


You Don't Always Get What You Want

by deadly_nightshade, Nerdy_fangirl_57



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, BAMF Stiles, Bully Derek, Child Malia, Cora Hale & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Dream Sharing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Humans Don't Exist, Insecure Stiles Stilinski, Jock Derek, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Nerd Stiles, Omega Stiles Stilinski, POV Alternating, Pack Dynamics, Paige & Stiles Friendship, Pianist Stiles Stilinski, Protective Derek (Eventually), Scott is a Bad Friend, Slow Build, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Stilinski Family Feels, Vampire Argents, Werewolf Stiles Stilinski, everyone is supernatural, mild Self-harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2017-04-13
Packaged: 2018-08-18 17:01:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 63,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8169289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadly_nightshade/pseuds/deadly_nightshade, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerdy_fangirl_57/pseuds/Nerdy_fangirl_57
Summary: Stiles doesn't understand what he could have done to deserve this. Not only has the entire student body been out to get him since he first stepped foot into Beacon Hills High, but now he has to endure the constant bullying without his best friend Scott by his side. All in all school is survivable, even with all the harassment. That is until he finds out that Derek Hale, basketball superstar and Stiles' most persistent bully, is apparently his soulmate. Fan-fucking-tastic.Derek can't believe this. It has to be a joke, it has to, because there is no way in hell that a freak like Stilinski could ever be his soulmate. He despises him more than anyone in the universe. So what if Derek thinks he has a cute nose, no one needs to know. Besides it doesn't matter anyway, he still hates Stilinski with every fiber of his being, his cute nose doesn't change a thing.(Inspired by Blue Monday written by ExpectNothingGainEverything)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Blue Monday](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4661448) by [ExpectNothingGainEverything](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExpectNothingGainEverything/pseuds/ExpectNothingGainEverything). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: If you guys have ever read Blue Monday then this chapter is going to seem like a rip off because this story was inspired by Blue Monday and contains various elements of that story in the first chapter. Please, don't stop reading just because the first chapter is similar to Blue Monday, the story will start to change directions in chapter 2 and then do a complete U turn from Blue Monday's plot and story line in chapter 3. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the story :)

Stiles was staring at the ceiling, pondering whether he should start getting ready for school or not. It was only 4 a.m. so he technically doesn't have to get ready for another few hours, but, he's learned that coming to school at the crack of dawn was the best way to avoid people.  
  
He still has to get through the entire school day with all the douchebags that populate Beacon Hills High School bullying him, but, at least he could get a few hours of peace before his day went to shit.  
  
Things were much simpler when Scott was around. The teen always stood up for him even if all the pressure and tension would trigger an asthma attack. He always somehow managed to make Stiles laugh even if he was in a terrible mood.  
  
Of course, that was before he met Allison during the summer, the sweet Beta vampire had captured his best friend’s heart without even lifting a finger -it was pathetic really.  
  
Seeing Scott fall completely in love with a girl that wouldn’t even give him the time of day was just sad.  
  
Though, it’s not like he has any room to judge considering how infatuated he was with Lydia Martin. However, when Stiles saw the red-haired goddess kick a stray cat when it got too close to her back in 8th grade, the spell had been broken and Stiles never put Lydia Martin on a golden pedestal again.  
  
But Allison wasn’t like Lydia. The young vampire wouldn’t hurt a fly. She doesn’t even drink human blood! The girl relies solely on blood supplements and coconut water. She’s practically the embodiment of a real life Disney princess!  
  
Scott was totally taken with her.  
  
Stiles felt bad for Scott throughout the entire summer. Seeing the teen pin after a girl so out of his league was heartbreaking. But, of course, things didn’t stay that way for long.  
  
Scott presented as an Alpha 3 weeks before school started. Stiles still didn’t understand how the sweet, lovable, puppy-like asthmatic turned into a confident, authoritative, Alpha werewolf overnight.  
  
He was still the friendly teen that Stiles was best friends with since kindergarten but -at the same time- he wasn’t.  
  
When they hung out after Scott presented he would always dominate the conversation, not that Stiles minded of course, but it was like he was hardly paying attention to what Stiles was saying and only wanted to talk about how amazing his Alpha abilities were.  
  
Stiles was obviously stoked for Scott -presenting is a big deal and getting your supernatural abilities is the moment everyone dreams of. Everyone knows what supernatural they are from the moment they’re born but their abilities don’t kick in until they present as an Alpha, Beta, or Omega before their 16th birthday.  
  
Obviously a lot of people want to be Alphas since they’re the strongest of the three categories but sixty percent of people present as Betas. Alphas took up another thirty percent of the population while Omegas are the rarest of the trio and there isn’t a lot of information on them. The information they do have though, is mostly bigoted and prejudiced.  
  
All people really know about Omegas is that they’re the fastest of the all the categories and can endure more pain than Alphas can, even though they don’t heal as fast -something to do with breeding and them birthing multiple children. The weirdest thing, however, are male Omegas. The difference between male Omegas and the other categories is that male Omegas are the only males that can get pregnant. As of today there are only 9 documented male Omegas living in the world.  
  
So, it’s obvious that Scott would let the new discovery of being an Alpha go to his head for a little bit before going back to normal, right?  
  
Wrong.  
  
Once school started Scott was getting more of an ego boost with every passing day.  
  
He even forced Stiles to try out for the lacrosse team with him to impress Allison even though he knew that Stiles hasn’t presented yet. Scott obviously got picked to be on first line while Stiles got laughed at for his pathetic attempt to try out for the team.  
  
Getting into the team gave Scott all the confidence he needed to stride over to Allison and ask her out. It didn't just open doors for him, it bulldozed fucking walls. Turns out they were soulmates and now both of them have a little infinity sign enveloped inside a heart displayed proudly on their wrist.  
  
After that Scott didn’t hang out with him anymore and became part of the renounced 'popular group' without so much as glancing back at Stiles. Scott was officially part of the pack; other members included Jackson (Beta/kanima), Lydia (Alpha/banshee), Boyd (Beta/werewolf), Erica (Beta/werewolf), Isaac (Beta/werewolf), Allison (Beta/vampire), and Derek (Alpha/werewolf).  
  
Stiles wishes he could say he was surprised, but, he really wasn't. He knew how much of a loser he was and it was only a matter of time before Scott turned his back on him like everyone else. Still, Stiles didn't think Scott would ditch him for Jackson and his posse -they tormented Stiles and Scott knew that.

For Scott to just leave him and become friends with all of them after knowing all the things they did to Stiles... it... it hurt.  
  
But life didn't stop just because Stiles' feelings got hurt. The bullying just got worse the day after Stiles tried out for the lacrosse team. Apparently, Jackson convinced everyone in school that Stiles was trying to steal Lydia from him, even though everyone knows that it’s impossible to steal someone else’s soulmate. As if the low life didn't cause enough crap, Jackson managed to make everyone think he made his dad threaten coach Finstock to put him on the team!  
  
It was ridiculous. Stiles didn’t even make it on the team, not that he wanted to anyway, and god knows he hasn’t so much as looked at Lydia Martin in nearly 2 years.  
  
But the school didn’t care. They took the opportunity to torment him in any way they saw fit.  
  
Some would slam him against the lockers, steal his homework, make fun of him, or beat him up. The worst part, however, were the rumors.  
  
All the rumors about Stiles were awful but… the one that hurt him far worse than the others did was the one about his mom abandoning him because he was too much of a freak.

His mom didn’t leave him, she died, and everyone in Beacon Hills knows that. So, why would they come up with such horrific stories about how she just got up and left him and his dad without ever looking back?  
  
Stiles shook his head before any more depressing thoughts came to mind. He really didn’t want to go to school today. He didn’t want to deal with the bullying anymore, but, he couldn't stay home either.  
  
If he did then his dad will start asking stupid questions again. He loves his dad, really, but they haven’t been talking very much lately. The last couple of times Stiles tried to tell his dad about what’s going on in school the older man just brush it off with a simple ‘kids will be kids Stiles. Don’t let them get to you’.  
  
After the umpteenth time his dad brushed it off, Stiles stopped trying. He’ll just have to deal with it on his own.  
  
Like always...  
  
With a sigh Stiles got out of bed and grabbed the first pieces of clothing he saw in his closet. He took a quick shower and threw on the clothes he found before going downstairs. Grabbing the keys to the Jeep, Stiles skips grabbing a bite to eat before leaving because he knew it wouldn’t stay down with his unruly stomach.  
  
Stiles hops into the Jeep and finds himself parked in the empty school parking lot a little before 5. He makes his way inside the school and walks through the deserted hallways until he enters the music room.  
  
The room was quiet as he turns on the light, all the instruments placed neatly where they belong and all the music sheets placed in folders organized by instrument and genre. This was, by far, his favorite place in the entire school. Although, the library followed as a close second.  
  
The teen makes his way to the grand piano placed on the far side of the room near the window.  
  
Once he was seated on the beautiful black Steinway Piano he closed his eyes and let his fingers glide through the keys. Stiles wasn’t even aware that he was mimicking Peter Bence’s piano cover of Bad by Michael Jackson until he got to the chorus.  
  
He lets the music distract him from all the pain he knows he’s going to suffer through today. Music has always been a safe place for him, one that will always be there no matter what when bad things happen. He doesn’t want to deal with reality right now, so, he lets the beautiful melody of the music consume him until all he can think about is the sound he’s creating.  
  
The teen lets out a deep breath and keeps his eyes closed when he stops playing, only for his eyes to be snapped open by the sound of loud clapping coming from the front of the classroom.  
  
He looks up to see Paige leaning against the door frame with a charming smile on her lips as she looks at him.  
  
“That was amazing Stiles! How did you do all that without opening your eyes? It sounds awesome, is it an original?” She asked excitedly while she walked across the room to get to her cello.  
  
“Oh, uh, thanks Paige. It’s actually a Peter Bence cover of Michael Jackson’s song Bad and, well, I sort of memorized it?” Stiles explained as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.  
  
Paige gave him a bemused look as she finished up setting her cello and music stand, “Remind me again why you don’t want anyone finding out that about you're amazing musical talent? Because if I were you, I’d sure want to show people what I could do.”  
  
“Because Paige, the whole school already makes my life a living hell enough as it is. If I tell them I’m a music geek they’ll have one more reason to tease me.” He explained with a sigh.  
  
Paige gives him an annoyed look, “I don’t get it. Why do you let them do this to you Stiles? Why don’t you tell someone what’s going on? Why can’t you let me help you?”  
  
“Paige I’ve tried to tell people, really I have, but no one does anything about it. Not even my dad thinks it’s anything serious. And I don’t want you to help me because people _like_ you Paige, you’re an amazing person and you deserve to be happy. If you start helping me people are going to treat you badly and I don’t want that to happen to you. You’re my only friend Paige, promise me you won’t do anything.”  
  
“Stiles-”  
  
“ _Promise me_.” He pleaded before she had a chance to continue.  
  
She must have seen something desperate on his face because she looked at him with sad eyes before whispering, “I promise.”  
  
Stiles let out an audible sigh of relief as he glances at the clock.  
  
“You’re early, you usually don’t get here for another 20 minutes.” Stiles observed while he looked at the clock declaring it to be 5:25.  
  
“Yeah, well, I wanted to give you something.” The Beta werewolf said as she took out an envelope from her bag.  
  
Stiles eyed the piece of paper curiously as he took it from her delicate fingers and opened it. When he finished reading it Stiles was completely speechless as he looked back up at Paige with an awed expression.  
  
“This… This is a letter from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. It’s one of the top music schools in the country, h-how did you get this?”  
  
Paige grinned at his reaction before she explained, “I sent out an application under your name for the summer music program they have every year. I got my acceptance letter last week so it looks like we’ll be going together.”  
  
“But… don’t you need to send out a video of a solo performance along with the application to get accepted?”  
  
“Yes, which is why I made sure to film you 2 months ago when I asked you to play David Hicken’s piano cover of Carol of the Bells.” She explained as a triumphant smirk made its way into her features.  
  
Stiles can’t find any words to express how thankful he is to the junior, so, he pulls her in for a bone crushing hug. Paige lets out a surprised gasp but quickly returns the tight hug. This is the first time Stiles has initiated any sort of physical contact with her and she sure as hell isn’t going to cut it short.  
  
Stiles reluctantly pulls back from the hug after a long moment. Paige gently combs her fingers through his hair and watches as the younger boy practically melts under the touch.  
  
The teen hasn’t been touched like this in a long time and he doesn’t give a fuck that his eyes are fluttering closed at the feeling of Paige running her fingers through his hair. It feels too amazing to care.  
  
He knows he should stop this, knows that if she keeps doing this she’ll go all day smelling of him and vice versa.  
  
It’s not like he doesn’t want to smell like her or anything considering he has already started to see her as pack. He finds her smell and touch comforting as well as look up to her like an older sister. However, if the other students smell their combined scents, they’ll start looking into things that don’t concern them.  
  
With that thought in mind Stiles pulls back from the much wanted touch.  
  
“Uh, so, want to do a duet?” Stiles asked awkwardly.  
  
Paige simply rolls her eyes even as a fond smile tugs at her lips and answers, “Sure.”  


* * *

  
 Stiles looked at the clock to find that is was 30 minutes before school officially started. Quickly packing all of his things and exiting the music room while saying bye to Paige, he made his way to his Economics class with Coach Finstock.  
  
He likes getting to his first period before the halls start flooding with students. That way he doesn’t have to be pushed into lockers every 3 seconds. Finstock usually has his class open 30 minutes before the final bell, so, Stiles makes it his mission to get into the class as soon as possible.  
  
When he reaches the classroom and tries to open the door… the door is locked.  
  
Dammit!  
  
This just has to happen to him today of all days. The day he has a class with Derek Hale. This is fucking perfect.  
  
Derek has practically made it his life goal to torment Stiles. For what exactly, Stiles doesn’t have a clue. All he knows is that last year when he had Chemistry with the basketball star, Derek wasn’t an asshole to him; there were actually moments when the werewolf had smiled at him on occasion.  
  
But during the middle of the year Stiles had walked into his Chemistry class and Derek had bumped into him so hard he fell on the floor soon followed by a disguised ‘Watch where you’re going, freak.’  
  
Stiles had figured that it was bound to happen sooner or later, so, he simply gathered all of his things before getting up to sit in his seat. It would only make sense for the hot basketball superstar to start poking fun at the school freak.  
  
The sad part about the whole incident wasn’t that Derek had actually made fun of him, it was that Stiles was starting to think he wouldn’t. Stiles let his guard down around the older Alpha for some unknown reason, he thought that maybe Derek was above what his friends were doing, that the teen was somehow better than that.  
  
Obviously, he wasn’t.  
  
After that the Alpha showed no mercy around the younger teen. Derek might be a year older than him but with all the advanced classes Stiles was taking, he had more classes with Derek than he cared to have.  
  
It’s terrifying. Stiles feels like he’s always on edge, always ready to be attacked. It’s exhausting to keep his guard up all the time.  
  
All he wants to do is curl up under his comfy blanket and let the pain disappear. He doesn’t understand, Jackson has been bullying Stiles since forever, how can Derek get under his skin so easily?  
  
Lost in his thoughts, Stiles doesn’t notice the malicious teen prowling towards him until it’s too late.  
  
He’s thrown against the wall and turned around to face the infamous Derek Hale.  
  
“Well if it isn’t my favorite little freak. How are you? I haven’t seen you in _ages_.” The Alpha drawled, each word dripping with sarcasm.  
  
Yeah, ages. It’s been so long since the older teen had slammed his head against his desk yesterday. Stiles just _loves_ concussions.  
  
“Fine.” Stiles answers in a dull tone as he tried to shove the older male away. He was so not fine. He was practically boiling even though it’s nearing the end of November, his head feels like it’s about to explode, his legs feel like they’re about to give out from under him, and his lungs feel like they’re not getting enough air, causing him to take deep uneven breaths.  
  
However, before he can shake off his older classmate, Derek presses him back into the wall.  
  
“Get in my way again and I’ll make sure you leave with a couple new bruises for your collection.” Derek growls out before roughly pushing him against the wall one last time and leaving towards the cafeteria.  
  
Stiles slowly sinks down to the floor after the Alpha leaves. He doesn’t know how long he stays like that, sitting on the floor next to the classroom door, but he can’t seem to register any time passing at all.  
  
The teen takes deep breaths, trying desperately to get his lungs to stop burning. He doesn’t understand what this is. It doesn’t feel like a panic attack, but, for some reason he’s having trouble getting air into his system.  
  
His head is throbbing and his body somehow gets even hotter. How is that even possible?  
  
Suddenly, he distantly heard the sound of keys jingling and he’s so relieved he can cry. Finstock is opening the door. He can get inside the classroom. He can be safe from the pain for a few minutes.  
  
“Stilinski what the fuck happened to you? You look like shit.” Finstock exclaimed as he looked down at the boy.  
  
“Thanks coach.” Stiles tried to say but it just sounded like a pained whine. He didn’t care though, he’s been through worse. He can deal with this. Whatever this is…  
  
“Do you need help going to the nurse?” The older man asked with something akin to concern seeping into his voice.  
  
Stiles shook his head. He didn’t need to go to the nurse. He just needs time to pull himself together.  
  
Coach Finstock eyes him worriedly and carefully guides him to his seat in the back of the class. If there was one thing Stiles is grateful for is that in almost all of his classes he sits in the back. Students love to torment him, especially when he can’t do anything about it. If he sits anywhere else but the back row, he’ll spend the entire period having things thrown at him and hearing conversation about him.  
  
He’s already self-conscious as it is, he doesn’t need people’s constant whispering to remind him of it. He knows what he looks like, it’s not his damn fault he doesn’t look like a fucking super model like the rest of the student body, leave him alone already dammit!  
  
Soon after, students start pouring into the class. Stiles hears the final bell ring, but, he doesn’t remember how long ago that was.  
  
His vision is blurry and all the noise in the class becomes distant and drowned out, almost as if he was under water.  
  
The pain somehow gets more intense. He can’t concentrate on anything other than the immense pressure that is going through his body. Stiles doesn’t even notice that Finstock is talking to him until he feels a firm hand on his shoulder.  
  
“Stilinski can you hear me? That’s it I’m taking you to the nurse’s office.”  
  
“N-no, I can… I can go by m-my… self.” Stiles choked out with labored breaths. Shit why is the room spinning?  
  
Finstock clearly wasn’t buying it though.  
  
“Are you fucking kidding me Stilinski? You can hardly breathe let alone walk to the other side of the school.”  
  
Stiles wasn’t sure when coach pulled him to his feet but not a moment later a very familiar sneer resonated through the room.  
  
“Come on coach, you can’t seriously be thinking of walking freak-linski to the nurse’s office. You have a class to teach. Just let him go on his own, that’s what he gets for being such a complete waste of space.” Derek said, every single word dripping with venom as he spoke.  
  
“You’re right Hale,” Stiles didn’t even need to see Derek’s face to know the guy was smirking smugly at him, “I do have a class to teach, which is why you are going to take him to the nurse’s office”  
  
_Well that's just fucking perfect..._ _  
_

* * *

  
 What the hell did he do to deserve this? Hell, what the fuck was coach thinking when he told him to take Stilinski to the nurse’s offices? He’s practically carrying the little shit.  
  
Stilinski is probably faking the whole thing to make him suffer. Derek isn’t going to let him play his little freak game of his.  
  
The older teen slammed the freak’s barely conscious body into the wall as soon as Derek knew no one in their econ class could hear them. The kid looked wrecked. He could hardly stand on his own two feet. Stilinski looked a second away from fainting; his skin was ghostly pale and his hair was starting to stick to his forehead with how much he was sweating, though, that didn’t seem to stop him from shivering. The kid was shaking so hard Derek almost thought he had hypothermia.  
  
Something twisted in his stomach at the sight. Stilinski really did look like he was in pain… maybe he should leave the pup alone.  
  
Derek was taken aback by the startling thought, what the fuck was he thinking? The freak is just a particularly good actor that’s all. He’s still only doing this to make Derek’s life harder, freaks like him never learn.  
  
“You think this is funny?” he sneered while pressing his arm dangerously hard on the freak’s neck, “I told you to stay out of my way or else you’d get some new bruises. I’m a man of my word freak, don’t fuck with me!”  
  
Just as Derek was about to punch Stilinski in the face, he felt a slight burning sensation on the side of his neck. “What the fuck?” He said as both his hands reach up to touch the slightly burning skin, Stilinski passed out the second Derek’s hands let go of him.  
  
“Shit.” He muttered as he bent down to get the freak back up to his feet, however, just as he was about to lift Stilinski back up he saw a dark blob on the side of the freak’s neck.  
  
It was in the exact same place where Derek felt that burning sensation on his skin and when he got a closer look at it he realized what it was. It was a soul mark. A small 3 inch marking imbedded on skin like a tattoo that only appears when someone touches their soulmate for the first time after they have both presented. And right now Derek is staring at Stilinski’s fucking soul mark that looks like the head of a wolf shaped into half a heart. Which means…  
  
He and Stilinski are soulmates. Stilinski is his _one and only_ his _true love_ , fuck. Derek has always believed that his soulmate would be smart, witty, talkative, family oriented, good with kids, fun loving, caring, and passionate with pretty eyes accompanied by a nice smile.  
  
Instead, the universe pairs him up with Stilinski. Beacon Hill’s weird, fidgety, abnormally quiet, hated, residential freak. What the fuck did he do to deserve this type of punishment?  
  
After nearly a minute of wallowing in self-pity Derek realized that Stilinski still hasn’t moved from the floor where he unceremoniously passed out just a few moments ago. Repressing a growl, Derek begrudgingly lifts the younger teen in his arms and makes his way to the nurse’s office.  
  
Honestly he should be given a medal or something for having to carry this little fuck-face all the way to the nurse’s offices instead of throwing him in the garbage can like the trash he is. Seriously, the stupid freak is so damn lucky that the halls are completely empty or else Derek wouldn’t hesitate to leave him on the floor.  
  
When he enters the nurse’s office a women immediately rushed to where they were and instructed Derek to place Stiles on the small bed in the corner of the room while he explained what happened. It wasn’t until the women tried to touch Stiles that Derek realized how close his wolf was to the surface.  
  
He tensed when she moved to touch Stiles and when the younger boy whimpered pitifully at the touch he couldn’t hold back the low growl that escaped him. It was then that the nurse noticed the soul mark on his neck and an expression of understanding graced her features.  
  
“Mr. Hale, I know the last thing you want right now is for someone you don’t know to get near your soulmate but I’m going to need you to let me help him.” She explains in a calm tone even though he can hear the fast pace of her heartbeat.  
  
He nods mutely but stays close enough to make sure he can see everything that’s going on. What the fuck is going on? He can feel his eyes burning red and it’s taking almost all of his strength to keep his wolf under control. Why the hell is he so damn worried about the freak? He already brought him to the nurse’s office so why can’t he leave the stupid pup’s side!? His wolf is going crazy!  
  
“Oh no.”  
  
The whispered words of the nurse bring him back to reality, “Oh no? What do you mean ‘oh no’? What is going on?!”  
  
She doesn’t answer, instead she grabs the phone on her desk and dials a number.  
  
“Yes, hello? This is Annabel Rodriguez, I am calling from Beacon Hills High School. We need an ambulance here as fast as possible, one of our students seems to have presented but is experiencing complications. I’m worried it might be life threatening.”  
  
All the color drains from Derek’s face, “L-life threatening!? What do you mean life th-threatening!?!”  
  
The nurse ignores him and continues to talk through the phone, “Yes, he has a dangerously high fever, loss of consciousness, and appears to be having trouble breathing…”  
  
Derek zones the rest of the conversation out. Shit, Stilinski could die. He’s not Derek’s favorite person in the world, but, Derek doesn’t want the kid to _die_. His wolf definitely doesn’t like that idea if the way it whimpers pitifully in his head is any consolation.  
  
Fuck his life, Stiles Stilinski is his soulmate and now he’s about to die! What type of sick joke is the universe trying to play on him? He must have done something seriously horrible in a past life to deserve this. His life was perfect and now it’s all falling apart right before his eyes.  
  
Before long the paramedics arrive to the scene and lift Stiles onto a stretcher. They’re about to leave the room when one of the EMTs notice Stiles’ soul mark.  
  
“Wait, he has a soul mark.” a petite women informs, “You, you’re his soulmate right?” She inquires while her eyes narrow at the mark on his neck.  
  
He nods mutely. It’s not like he can lie when she clearly saw his soul mark. She simply nods and suddenly Derek feels someone ushering him outside the school and into the ambulance. He wants to protest, scream and yell that he wants nothing to do with Stilinski, but it’s almost like his body is moving on its own without his consent.  
  
He finds himself sitting beside Stiles’ unconscious body as the paramedics are busy doing things that Derek isn’t even going to try to understand. Instead, he focuses on Stiles’ face.  
  
It’s unnaturally pale, coated with a cold sweat that causes his hair to stick onto his forehead. He has bags under his eyes making him look like he hasn’t slept in days. Maybe he hasn’t. The thought makes Derek want to growl but he pushes it back down before it could escape his throat.  
  
Before long the ambulance stops, indicating that they have finally arrived at the hospital. Derek doesn’t know what he’s still doing here, he should just tell the paramedics that he wants to leave, he should tell someone that the last place he wants to be is near freak-linski… yet… he can’t.  
  
Derek doesn’t know why but the thought of leaving Stiles alone while in such a vulnerable state makes him want to rip someone’s throat out with his teeth. It’s almost like he needs to make sure that Stiles is okay.  
  
Jesus, what the fuck is happening to him?! He doesn’t care about Stilinski! He hates Stilinski!!  
  
So, why does he feel like he’s about to have a panic attack just by the mere thought of not being with him right now?  
  
This is fucked up. Why the hell is he feeling like this?! Everything is so confusing! One minute, he’s perfectly happy living his amazing life; then the next, BAM, he’s Stiles Stilinski’s fucking soulmate. This is so frustrating, none of this was supposed to happen!  
  
HE’S NOT EVEN GAY!!!  
  
He likes girls, with boobs, and vaginas, and… and... _NOT STILES FUCKING STILINSKI_!!  
  
“The doctor will be with you in just a moment.” announced a soft voice that snapped him out of his daze.  
  
Derek had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn’t even notice that he was currently standing in what seemed to be a hospital room. With Stiles. On the bed. Still unconscious. Shit.  
  
What is he going to do?!? His parents are going to see his mark the second he gets home and his brothers are going to bombard him with questions and his sisters are going to laugh their asses off when they find out!! He is doomed! His once perfect life will be no more, why the fuck did Stilinski have to ruin everything!! This isn’t fair! What did he do to deserve the horrific punishment of having Stiles Stilinski as a soulmate; Derek just wants to curl up into a ball and die of humiliation.  
  
“Good morning Mr. Hale,” Derek nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice right behind him.  
  
He turned to find a dark skinned man in a white lab coat and light blue scrubs holding a clipboard. He smells like a Beta category, but, most certainly not a werewolf. Druid.  
  
“I am Dr. Deaton, I am an ER doctor as well as the Omega Specialist of this facility.” The older man explained as he outstretched his hand.  
  
Derek shook it but didn’t do anything else. What the hell is he still doing here anyway?  
  
Before Derek could even fathom what he was supposed to say, a soft pained groan echoed in the room. In an instant both men’s attention were focused solely on Stiles as the teen blinked up at the ceiling.  
  
“Ah, Mr. Stilinski, good to see you’re awake.”  
  
Stiles looks at their direction and instantly glares at Derek, “What is _he_ doing here?”  
  
Dr. Deaton simply lifts his eyebrows slightly before answering in a calm and measured tone, “Mr. Stilinski, this is Derek Hale, your soulmate.”  
  
“Nope. Not happening. I’m having a nightmare this isn’t the real world. I am sleeping in my bed right now having a nightmare. Yep, that sounds about right. My alarm will go off any minute now and I will have another miserable Monday at school that does not include Derek Hale being my soulmate. No, my life can’t be that horrible.”  
  
The fuck did that runt just say? Anyone would be lucky to have him for a soulmate; that little shit needs to learn his place. Derek is the one that got the short end of the stick here, not him, he should be fucking grateful Derek hasn’t ripped his throat out yet.  
  
“This is no nightmare Mr. Stilinski, Mr. Hale is most certainly your soulmate. That soul mark on your neck proves it. However, I am glad to inform you that you have successfully presented as an Omega werewolf.”  
  
Wait. What.  
  
“WHAT!?” Stiles screeched from his spot on the bed; the younger teen’s eyes appeared just about ready to pop out of their sockets.  
  
“There are a few things you should know before we can discharge you from the hospital,” Deaton said completely ignoring Stiles’ outburst.  
  
“I’m sure you’re well aware of the basic differences between male Omegas and other categories: the ability to conceive, the superior speed, and the higher endurance to pain. However, there are many things that the majority of people don’t know about male Omega categories, such as: the ability to self-lubricate and lactate, the Omega Growl, the increased protectiveness, the allure, and the Special Ability.”  
  
Stiles opened his mouth and words started pouring out in an unnaturally fast speed, “Okay so I can apparently have sex with no prep without it hurting me and breastfeed, cool, now what the fuck is an ‘Omega Growl’ because I was told that growls are unique to oneself so what the hell makes my growl an ‘Omega Growl’ is it going to be all high pitched or something? Is it going to sound more like a whine than a growl? ‘cause that would suck. Also, increased protectiveness, really? I thought only Alphas got unbelievably protective when they presented. And what the fuck is an allure? It sounds like something J.K Rowling would write about in her books. And what do you mean ‘Special Ability’? Am I going to be able to read people’s minds or something? That’d be awesome.”  
  
Derek is completely shocked by all the words that came out of Stilinski’s mouth. That was the most Derek has ever heard the younger teen say in the history of ever, he’s always quiet and keeps to himself.  
  
Dr. Deaton doesn’t seem surprised, “The Omega Growl is just like any other growl, Mr. Stilinski, the only difference is that when an Omega feels threatened and growls all the Alphas around them will have an uncontrollable urge to defend. As for the protectiveness, the only category that experiences increased protectiveness is the Omega category; the Alpha categories only develop increased possessiveness. The allure is also exclusive to Omegas and is always present, it enhances your scent and softens your features. Although, it does not alter the way you look in any way, it highlights your physical appearance. The Special Ability is different for every Omega, it is an ability unique to them and them alone; no two Omegas living at the same time will have the same Special Ability. Usually, the Special Ability is discovered a few days after presenting.”  
  
After that Dr. Deaton continues to explain other things about Stiles being an Omega werewolf, like how Omega werewolves are the most connected with their wolves so they can turn full wolf whenever they want. He also talks about how Stiles’ wolf form is going to be a slightly smaller than other wolves as well as how Omegas are the weakest of the 3 categories but can handle double the amount of pain an Alpha category can. Other than that Omega werewolves have the same smelling and hearing abilities as other werewolves.  
  
Once Dr. Deaton says that they’ll wait a few more hours to discharge Stiles just to make sure he’s perfectly stable he leaves the room, causing a deafening silence to fall upon the two teens.  
  
“This doesn’t change anything.” Derek announces, breaking the tense silence between them, “I don’t care if you’re supposedly my soulmate, I don’t want you.” He concludes with a glare.  
  
To his surprised Stiles doesn’t cower away from him like he normally would, instead, the younger wolf glares right back at him menacingly.  
  
“And who the fuck told you that I wanted _you_?” He asked with a sneer plastered on his face, saying the last word with disgust.  
  
Derek is so shocked he couldn’t utter a single word until he lets his anger take over.  
  
“You can’t speak to me that way! I’m an Alpha and I demand to be treated as such!!”  
  
“I can speak to you however the fuck I want, Hale! I don’t care if you’re a stupid Alpha, I’ve had enough of your shit. You and your idiotic pack of superstar wannabes have been making my life a living hell for a year and a half and I’ve just rolled over and let you do whatever you want with me. Well, I’ve got news for you Hale, I might not be an Alpha but I’m sure as hell done playing the defenseless victim. Now, get out.”  
  
Derek growls and makes sure his fangs are in full display as he flashes his eyes at Stiles. But the younger boy doesn’t even so much as flinch, instead, he flashes his eyes right back as he face remains perfectly neutral.  
  
The Alpha immediately stops growling, captivated by the soft glow of light green eyes staring back at him. There is something mesmerizing about those eyes and Derek knows that his own are still glowing red, but, the anger and hatred buried deep inside those glowing green orbs causes him to back away as he barely manages to contain the whine trying to claw its way up his throat.  
  
“I mean it, Hale. Get out.”  
  
Derek hesitates, not wanting to make it seem like Stilinski has won the fight, but when he takes one more look into those emerald colored eyes still glowing with unending hatred he knows exactly what he needs to do.  
  
He leaves.  


* * *

  
 His dad came running into the hospital room about 15 minutes after Derek left. Stiles could tell the man was worried by the way something odious clung to his scent that Stiles could only guess was the smell of anxiety as the older werewolf made his way to bed that Stiles was lying on.  
  
“Stiles, what the hell happened? One minute I’m doing paper work while the next I’m getting a phone call from the school saying that you’re being transported to-” his dad abruptly stops mid sentence as his eyes travel down to Stiles’ neck. Shit.  
  
Stiles tries to cover up his soul mark but he knows it’s no use, his dad has already seen it. He’s so fucked.  
  
“Stiles, you presented!! That’s amazing! And you found your soulmate!! Who is it? Did you exchange information already? Do their parents know? Hell, why didn’t you tell me sooner?! Is your soulmate an Alpha or a Beta? Wait, are you an Alpha or a Beta? God, your mother would be so proud, we have to celebrate. Call them and tell them we will be having a barbeque tonight and that their entire family can come as well as friends, the more the merrier! Jesus, kiddo this is incredible! Do they have a big family? I know how much you want a big family, do they-”  
  
“HE HATES ME!!!”  
  
The room goes quiet.  
  
“What?” The Alpha werewolf asked seeming honestly perplexed by what just came out of his son’s mouth.  
  
Stiles takes a deep breath before continuing, “My soulmate. He hates me… and… I hate him. We may have this mark on our necks that tell us we are destined for each other but I’ll never love him and he’ll never love me. I know that for a fact.”  
  
“Bullshit!” His dad says, “I don’t know what happened between the two of you but I know one thing for certain. Soulmates are soulmates for a reason Stiles, just give him a chance, maybe he’ll surprise you.”  
  
Stiles wants to believe that, he does, but wanting something to happen and it actually happening are two different things. Ever since he was little he always wanted to love someone the way his parents loved each other. They both wore their soul marks proudly, always making sure that the anchors on their ring fingers were always visible as they hovered just above their wedding rings.  
  
He always wanted someone to love and not have to worry about them leaving for someone better, always wanted someone he could trust and not agonize over whether or not they’ll use that trust against him. Stiles can’t have that with Derek. As much as he wants to deny it, last year when they had that Chemistry class together, he trusted Derek.  
  
He thought Derek was better than his friends and that he wouldn’t drop down to their level and bully a kid that hasn’t done anything to him. Then Derek become just like them, worse than them actually. Stiles might not have spoken to him, but he did trust Derek, just a little bit, and look at where that trust got him. He won’t make the same mistake twice.  
  
“He won’t surprise me dad. No matter what you think about this, Derek and I will never be like you and mom. Ever.”  
  
“Derek Hale? Talia’s son?”  
  
Crap.  
  
“Derek Hale is an amazing kid Stiles, all the Hales are amazing people. Even Peter Hale and he’s terrifying.”  
  
Yeah, Derek Hale is an _amazing_ person alright…  
  
“Look dad, I know you want everything to work out but it’s not going to happen. I don’t want Derek.” Stiles states firmly.  
  
His dad huffs out an annoyed breath and gives him a stern look, “Stiles, I don’t know what happened to make you so against the thought of Derek being your soulmate but I’m telling you, give him a chance, you won’t regret it. He might not be a straight A student but he’s a smart kid with good grades and he’s the captain of the basketball team as well as an active helper in the community. He helps out the station every once in awhile and he’s even helping me with my desk work whenever I have too much on my plate. He’s a good kid and one I would definitely approve of being your soulmate, just try Stiles. Is that too much to ask?”  
  
Stiles glares at his dad, “I don’t know dad, you tell me. Is it too much to ask of me to give Derek Hale a chance? The same Derek Hale that stood by and did nothing while his entire posse spread rumors about me all over the school and convinced the entire student body that I’m a worthless freak? The same Derek Hale that gives me bruises all over my body on a daily bases since the middle of last year just because he can? The same Derek Hale that laughs at me whenever I have a panic attack in school? The same Derek Hale that calls me freak-linski and a ‘useless waste of space’? The same Derek Hale that tells me to kill myself every week and says that my mom left me because I was just an annoyance that she didn’t want to deal with anymore and that you only said that she died to spare my fucking feelings? Is it too much to ask for me to ‘give him a chance’? Is it!?”  
  
Stiles can feel his eye burning with unshed tears but he refuses to let them fall down. He’s done crying and feeling sorry for himself, it’s time for him to end this one way or another.  
  
His dad is shocked, completely speechless as he lets the words set in. All the color drains from his face and Stiles knows by the redness coloring his eyes that his dad is trying his best to keep the tears at bay.  
  
“I- you never told me” his father stammered.  
  
Stiles scoffed, “Bullshit.” His dad flinches but Stiles continues, “I told you about the bullying at school multiple times. I told you about how they push me into lockers, how no one talks to me unless it’s to say an insult, how everyone spreads rumors about me, how the jocks punch me and kick me like it’s some sort of fun game, how they all laugh at me whenever I say anything in class even if it’s right, how they all make my life a living hell and Scott has done nothing to stop it since he first saw Allison… I told you everything and every time I bring it up you say ‘they're just kids Stiles’ or ‘you're exaggerating Stiles’ or ‘don’t let it bother you Stiles’ or how about my personal favorite ‘not now Stiles’”  
  
Stiles glares at his father as realization washes over the Alpha’s face. He knows he’s being mean but god dammit his father should feel horrible for what happened. Ever since Scott became one of the popular crowd with Allison, Stiles has been dealing with all this shit by himself without even so much as his dad to rely on. If wanting to make his dad feel bad for a few hours makes him a terrible person then so be it.  
  
“I didn’t think it was such a serious issue. You’ve always had a flare for the dramatics I just thought… I thought you were stretching the truth a bit. Why didn’t you tell a counselor or a teacher?”  
  
“My own father didn’t believe me do you really think I’d go to a teacher for help after knowing that? Besides, they wouldn’t have done anything anyway. All the teachers love them and some have even given me detention for being late to class even though they fucking saw me getting pummeled just outside their door. No one cares.” Stiles explains with a sigh.  
  
His dad growls at that and Stiles has to admit he feels a little better. His dad might not have handled the situation correctly the first time but it’s good to know that he still cares enough to get protective.  
  
Before his dad could speak, Deaton walks back into the room.  
  
“Sheriff Stilinski, it’s good to have you here. I see you’ve already met the new Omega.” He says with a polite smile.  
  
“WHAT!?”  
  
Stiles snickers at his father reaction despite himself.  
  
Deaton explains everything he explained to Stiles and Derek all over again but this time without Stiles’ constant interruptions.  
  
“What about heats?” His dad asks once Dr. Deaton finished his explanation.  
  
Shit, Stiles totally forgot about that.  
  
“Usually Omegas go into heat every four months for a week. However, since your son has already found his soulmate his first heat will occur exactly one week after finalizing the bond with Mr. Hale and will last 10 days. After that the rest of his heats will continue on as normal.”  
  
“So you’re telling me that my first heat will be exactly one week after Derek and I have sex for the first time?” Deaton nods, “Good. Now I don’t have to deal with any heats for the rest of my life.”  
  
Deaton looks incredulous but doesn’t say anything about it. Instead he says, “Well, if you choose to not be intimate with Mr. Hale then you should know that your body will reject other partners due to the soul bond you already share. Not only that, but your body will reject any child that might be conceived not belonging to Derek Hale.”  
  
“Wait, so you’re telling me that not only am I going to die a complete and utter virgin but I can’t have a kid unless it’s with Hale?”  
  
“I’m afraid so.” Deaton answers.  
  
“Good thing I can always adopt.” Stiles says with a bittersweet smile tugging on his lips.  
  
He’s always wanted kids. Sure, he’s always imagined them as his own in his head but it doesn’t mean he won’t love them just as much if he adopts.  
  
Deaton leaves soon after that.  
  
Stiles can tell his dad wants to say something, so, he waits until his dad finally speaks up.  
  
“I’m sorry. I should have known something was wrong the second you got quiet. You’re never quiet… I- I’m so sorry Stiles. I knew something like this was going to happen, it was only a matter of time before I fucked up, you would have been so much better off if your mother was still here instead of me. Claudia always knew what to do and always knew when something was bothering you…”  
  
His dad trails off with a faraway look and dull, lifeless eyes. It’s the look he gets when he thinks about what happened, the same one he always has when he’s staring unblinkingly at a bottle of whiskey in the middle of the night.  
  
The drinking has gotten better over the years. Stiles doesn’t walk into the living room to find his dad collapsed on the floor clinching an empty bottle every day like he used to back when the death of his mother still loomed over them like a dark cloud. Occasionally though, Stiles finds his dad sleeping on the couch with their alcohol drawer wiped clean.  
  
But it’s okay; Stiles understands that the loss of his mom will never truly go away. He still has nightmares and panic attacks about it. The younger wolf knows how hard it is for his dad to keep on without his soulmate, so, seeing the Alpha looking so distant and distraught causes something painful to settling in his chest.  
  
“None of that, dad,” Stiles says causing the Alpha to snap out of his daze, “you’re an amazing father and an incredible Alpha, I know you’re doing everything you can to make me happy. Don’t get me wrong I’m still mad at you, but, you don’t have to beat yourself up about it. What happened, happened and there is nothing either of us can do to change that. What you can do, however, is find a way to make it up to me, preferably with pizza and a Star Wars marathon.”  
  
His dad smiles as he utters a soft, “anything you want” before his expression grows serious once more.  
  
“But I want to know everything that happened to you starting from day one and a list of the main tormentors as well as any teacher that treated you unfairly or witnessed this abuse and refused to intervene tomorrow when you get back from school. Tonight we’ll relax and have fun but if anything happens tomorrow and I mean _anything_ contact me immediately. Clear, pup?”  
  
“Crystal.” Stiles says with a nod as he fails to suppress a small smile.  
  
His dad still cares. Stiles doesn’t care what Derek or anyone else has to say about it, his dad still cares about him and everything is going to be okay.  
  
Stiles is done playing the victim.   

 

     


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay same as last chapter this story is unbetaed and will be updated once D_N decides to stop being a lazy butt and edits the chapter. Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving :)

Derek walked through the front door of his house slowly and calmly, trying not to act suspicious since he can hear that almost everyone is home.

His mom is most likely in her soundproof office so he can’t hear her heartbeat but her car parked outside is a dead giveaway that she’s home, Uncle Peter is cooped up in the library again, Cora is in her room with the music turned up loud enough to block out any other noises coming from the room, Brandon is in the game room playing video games like most 12 year old boys, and Nora is hosting a tea party with her stuffed dragons up in her room acting like the happy-go-lucky 8 year old she is.

Seems like Aunt Tara decided to take Malia with her today while his dad is probably waiting for Laura at the airport right now.

It’s still weird not hearing Laura shout out the lyrics to the song she’s listening to on her earbuds or not hearing Michael scribbling in his journal like his life depended on it even though they both left for college a few years back.

Laura is a junior at NYU studying to be a homicide detective while Michael is doing the second year of his masters in philosophy at Berkeley.

Derek walked in and started heading up the stairs as he tried to look as normal as possible. Just when he was about to open the door to his room and be safe in his little sanctuary for a few more hours before his family finds out about his soul mark, his mom’s voice cuts through the hallway.

“Derek Jason Hale! Are you just going to lock yourself in your room like a hermit without even so much as saying hello to the woman whose vagina you broke while trying to bring you into this world?”

The teen mentally groaned.

_So close_

“Mom, I did not break your vagina!” The younger Alpha yells while facing his bedroom door. Maybe he can just have a conversation with his mom without looking at her.

“Tell that to the 6 stitches I had to get after giving birth to you! Now stop looking at your door like it holds the answer to all the world’s problems and give your mother a damn hug.”

Guess not.

Derek reluctantly turns around to face his mom, knowing full well that she can clearly see the soul mark displayed on the side of his neck.

“OH MY GOSH!! MY BABY FOUND HIS SOULMATE!!!” His mom screeches as she latches onto him and pulls him into a bone crushing hug.

She must have sensed that something was wrong because a second later she lead Derek into the soundproof office and swiftly locked the door before turning to look at him with a concerned expression.

“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” She asks while her eyes roam over his body as if checking for injuries.

Derek sighed, “It’s my supposed ‘soulmate’ the fates couldn’t have paired me up with someone less terrible! He’s weird and scrawny and a total creeper!! Not only that but he’s a complete brat that only wants to get people’s attention! He wants everyone to feel sorry for him as if he’s the only one with problems and he doesn’t even have any friends! Literally everyone in school hates him, there must have been some sort of mistake! I am not that guy’s soulmate!! I refuse to believe that I could ever be bonded with someone so horrible! Plus he’s a dude, I don’t even like dudes, I like girls! He’s offal and he’s not even cute the only thing attractive about him is his adorable nose but that’s literally IT!! How could something like this happen to me mom?!? I don’t deserve this!”

The older Alpha looked spectacle but she couldn’t detect a lie, “Why don’t you invite him and his Alpha to dinner tonight and we can discuss matters directly with him as well as see how he interacts with the pack.”

“NO! I will not let him step foot in here and ruin everything!! That’s what he does mom, he takes something good and destroys it! I won’t let him do that to our family.” Derek growled out with his eyes flashing blood red at his mother.

The woman doesn’t appear to be even the slightest bit impressed, “Derek, we will discuss this situation with your soulmate and his pack personally. We can wait a few days until formally inviting him if you’d like but we are going to talk with him and his current Alpha before the end of this week. Now, go get changed, Laura is should be here any minute and I want you to go with Cora on the perimeter run around the territory and make sure everything is ready for her arrival.”

“Mom, its Laura, not the queen of England. We don’t have to make sure the floors are polished before she gets here. She’ll probably just dirty it with her boots or something anyway.”

The older Alpha rolled her eyes, “Just go search the territory with your sister before I put you on babysitting duty again.”

With that Derek was dismissed back to his room where his mind wouldn’t stop replaying everything that happened today.

This is bad. Really bad. If his mom talks to Stilinski then the little punk will make him look like the bad guy even though _he_ is the innocent one _not_ Stilinski, and if the freak decides to bring the sheriff along then Derek’s fucking done for. It will be the sheriff’s word versus his and now that the freak presented as an Omega he can manipulate an Alpha’s protective instincts to his benefit just by using that ‘Omega Growl’ that the druid was talking about earlier.

He is so screwed.

Derek needs to show the pup that he needs to keep his stupid mouth shut about everything and make sure that none of the freak’s false information leaks out to the sheriff. Tomorrow at school Derek will pay a little visit to Beacon Hills’ residential freak to explain that just because the little brat is his soulmate doesn’t mean anything will change between them.

Stilinski needs to know that Derek still hates him more than anything in the world and nothing will ever change that.

“Der!!!! Mom said that you’re going to do the perimeter run with me!! Get your ass down here! You know I don’t like to wait!!” Cora’s voice resounded through the halls.

Derek groaned, “ _Fine._ ”

Stupid annoying little sisters.

Most of the perimeter run goes by in silence as they walked side by side through the territory. Derek doesn’t really get why it’s even called a perimeter ‘run’ if all they do is walk around aimlessly in search for threats, they should just call it a perimeter check or something. That would be much more accurate.

“So, are you going to talk about that soul mark on your neck or are we going to keep pretending I don’t see it?” Cora said as they walked along the perimeter of the territory.

“Just drop it Cora.” The older teen growled. He really didn’t want to think about Stilinski right now.

Cora throws her hands up in a mocking display of surrender, “Okay, touchy subject. Got it.”

Derek glares at her before saying, “How about we talk about you for a change. Heard you bitch slapped a kid for staring at you too long.”

Cora scuffed, “You actually believe that? First of all, I didn’t bitch slap him, I bitched at him. Totally different. Second, he wasn’t just staring at me, he was talking about how great my pussy would feel around his knot. Fucking disgusting. And third, you have no room to talk, you’re not fooling anyone with your little good guy act.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Derek asked as he tried to suppress a growl.

The Beta simply rolled her eyes, “Come on, Derek. You don’t honestly think I don’t know about what you’ve been doing to that poor Stilinski kid for over a year now, do you? I’m a _scout_ for fucks sake, my literal job in the pack is to get information on what’s going on and report it to the Lead Alpha.”

“You didn’t-”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist, I didn’t tell mom. As much as I hate what you’re doing to the poor kid I don’t have any evidence to back it up and you’ll deny it on the spot, so, mom will probably think I’m lying to make me look better or some shit like that. I went to the counselors but they just brushed it off and told me to wish you good luck on your game.” Cora informed with a look of disgust on her face.

Derek couldn’t have been more relieved to hear that Cora didn’t tell mom. She’d probably lecture him to death.

“You’re still a horrible fucking person. What you’re doing is called abuse and you can go to jail for that! Seriously, what did he ever do to you?!”

“Stay out of it, Cora! It’s not like it’s your problem. Stilinski deserves it. He’s a freak!” Derek yelled as he felt his eyes flash red.

“That’s my fucking point Derek! You can’t just treat someone like shit because they’re different! If you haven’t noticed, this isn’t fucking Mean Girls!”

“Leave it _alone_!!! God, you’re the most annoying sister ever! Why do you even care!? It’s not like you’re friends with Stilinski or anything.” The Alpha said.

“Oh yeah? Well, maybe I care because I know what it feels like to have people spread false rumors about you throughout the school, maybe I know what it feels like to walk around school all by yourself because no one wants to talk to you, and maybe I know what it feels like to be called a _freak._ ” Cora spat out before rushing past him.

Before she could fully disappear into the dense forest, however, she turned around, “And for the record, I’m going to be sitting with Stiles during lunch from now on. We may not be friends but from the few times I’ve talked to him I know he’s much better company than you and your stupid self-important friends.”

With that, she turned back around and walked in the direction of the Hale house.

Cora has it all wrong. Derek isn’t the bad guy here! It’s all Stilinski’s fault! Not his, Stilinski’s.

Cora doesn’t know what she’s talking about…

* * *

 

Talia was hunched over desk as the beginnings of a headache started to form. She didn’t know what to do. If all those things Derek said about his soulmate are true then she definitely doesn’t want the boy anywhere near her family, but, he was Derek’s _soulmate_! Soulmates are soulmates for a _reason_ , so, why Derek would have such a horrible opinion of him is far beyond her understanding.

Before she could so much as grasp the absurdity of the situation, her phone rang.

With a quick glance at her phone she quickly answers the call once she sees the name John Stilinski displayed on the screen.

“Hi John, it’s been a while.” She says lightheartedly.

Her and John have always gotten along but have never been particularly close. However, after Claudia died she found it comforting to talk to him every once in awhile. Claudia was a dear friend of hers and she wants to be there for John if he ever wants to talk about it.

“I would imagine so, considering the last time we talked your son wasn’t bullying my pup.”

The growl in his voice hit Talia like a punch in the face, “I’m sorry, surely you must be mistaken.”

“Really? Because my son said that Derek and his group of friends have been tormenting him for almost two years now.” John informed.

Talia was sat in complete silence as she registered John’s words. Her son, her _baby_ , was bullying Stiles. Stiles, the sweet little boy that would sit in her husband’s office three times a week for 3 hours crying over his mom’s death.

Over time the psychology sessions became less frequent until eventually, Stiles didn’t need to go to therapy anymore. But, the image of the fragile little boy with huge eyes and a smile that could light up a room still stuck with Talia.

To her, Stiles was still that tiny pup that would yearn for his mother yet still manage to smile at her and ask if she needed help with anything.

He was such a wonderful little boy, Talia can’t imagine why Derek would do something so despicable as to hurt him, or hurt anyone for that matter.

No. She knew her son and Derek would never do something like that. All of her kids know she has no tolerance for that sort of behavior. Derek knows better than that.

“That… That can’t be right. I’m sorry but Derek would never do such a thing.” She stuttered out. Derek wouldn’t do that…

“I thought so too. It took Stiles screaming it in my face for me to finally understand. However, if you want to see for yourself that what I’m saying is true then I can send you some footage from the security cameras all around the school showing your son punching and kicking Stiles until he works himself into a panic attack. You’re a good person Talia and I have high respect for you, but if your son even so much as _thinks_ about going near Stiles again, I won’t hesitate to shoot him with a load of wolfsbane bullets.”

“John… I-I’m so sorry! I had no idea this was happening.” Talia says. How could Derek do this? And to Stiles of all people. The pup has such a sweetheart!

“I know, neither did I. Stiles… Stiles tried to tell me what was going on but every time he’d talk about being bullied in school I thought he was just exaggerating. If I’d just done something about it when he first told me none of this would have happened. I’m a shitty father… my pup was being abused and I didn’t even bat an eyelash!”

“No. Don’t do that to yourself John. The only person that is to blame is the person that did that to Stiles… and as much as it pains me to admit it… is Derek. But don’t worry about him anymore, I assure you, I’ll make him regret he ever laid a hand on Stiles. Oh, and if you suspect that Derek hasn’t learned his lesson and is still going after Stiles, don’t hesitate to let me know. They all know damn well that I don’t tolerate bullying and Derek is going to fucking grovel on his knees before he _dares_ treat someone like that again.” Talia said viciously.

Derek is about to learn just how terrifying she could really be.

Talia hears a faint chuckle from the other line, “Trust me I won’t. I’m going to make sure Stiles tells me everything that happened in detail tomorrow after school as well as get a list of the rest of the tormentors. I’ll send you all the names so that you can make sure Derek doesn’t maintain any sort of contact with them.”

“Trust me I’ll make it impossible for them to use smoke signals if I fucking have to, my son is not going to keep interacting with those delinquents.”

“Good, now I have to get going, they’re about to release Stiles from the hospital.”

“What?!” Talia screeched, “What happened? Is Stiles alright? Why is he in the hospital?”

If Derek had anything to do with why Stiles was in the hospital she swears to god that boy better be ready for a beating because she’s going to kick his miserable ass so hard he’ll have to unbutton his collar to shit!

“He’s fine. There was just a complication when he presented earlier today, he’s stable and the doctors said it was because since he presented as an Omega his body reacted to the sudden internal change badly.” John informed calmly.

“Wait. Stiles presented as an Omega? He’s a male Omega?! Oh John that’s incredible!! Congratulate him for me will you? He must be so happy to have his abilities.”

“Yeah, well, I’m sure he is, but, he hasn’t been thinking much about that after having found his soulmate.” John states grimly.

“He found his soulmate already?! Wait… why do you sound so glum about it? I thought you’d be ecstatic.”

“You don’t know?” John inquired.

“Know what?”

She hears him sigh, “Derek and Stiles are soulmates.”

Fuck.

“Oh god.” She groaned. Derek you fucking _idiot_!

“Yeah. Not ideal. Anyway, I need to finish signing Stiles out of the hospital, I expect for you to take care of this issue with your son before I drown him in a river of wolfsbane.”

“Don’t worry, John. I’ll take care of it immediately.”

“Good.” John said before the call ended.

Talia sighed. She’s going to kill Derek. She taught her kids better than that! He’s a 17 year old Alpha he should know by now that that behavior will not be tolerated in this house!! If he wants to do that foolishness then he can get the fuck out of her roof because she won’t stand for this!

She remembers watching Alphas bully Betas or sometimes even kids that haven’t presented yet just to feel empowered. It’s revolting and Talia could never stand it when she saw it playout through high school and occasionally in college. No one should be picked on simply because they’re weaker than everyone else. The very thought of it disgusts her.

Talia doesn’t want to think that her kids are capable of doing something like that to someone, but, clearly Derek is. And out of all the people in the world he had to start picking on Stiles. Not only is he the son of her best friend, Claudia, but also just so happens to be Derek’s fucking soulmate!

She needs a drink.

Just as the Alpha was getting up from her desk to head towards the kitchen, Laura bursts through the door.

“I’m back!” Laura exclaims in a sing-song voice, “Not that I don’t love you Alpha of mine but I already met up with Nori and Brandie, so, where are Cor and Der-bear? I want to see my darling baby siblings!”

Great. Now she needs to fix this mess during Laura’s visit. She’s only going to be here for a few weeks since she has to go back to NYU for her classes and Talia wanted this time to be as stress free as possible for the young Alpha. She should have known better than to actually believe she could go more than a few days without drama. Why did she decide to have 6 kids again?

“You’ll see them in a moment when I call them over for a mandatory pack meeting.” Talia announces as she tries to sooth her growing head ache. She can already hear the shouting.

“Mandatory pack meeting? That’s just another way of saying ‘someone fucked up and is about to get roasted by the entire pack’ so spill, who are you about to verbally destroy!” Laura said with a face of pure joy displayed on her features.

Talia sighs before whispering, “Derek.”

Laura smirks, “Looks like Mr. Perfect finally screwed up.”

“You have no idea.”

 

* * *

 

When Derek walked back in the house he knew something was off. He took the long way back so he knew that he was probably the last one to arrive, but, there was something about everything that made him feel on edge.

Laura should have arrived by now and the fact that everything is deadly silent in the house is definitely sending red flags to his brain. The Hale house in never quiet, especially when everyone is home.

The only explanation for it to be this quiet is either for everyone to be asleep -which is highly unlikely considering it’s only 8 p.m.- or everyone is gathered inside his mom’s office.

Before he could continue debating on whether he should head up to the office or not, his dad came down the stairs and told him they were having a mandatory pack meeting.

Derek tried to ask who was in trouble this time, considering that they only have mandatory pack meetings when someone majorly fucked up, but his dad ignored him and simply marched up the stairs again.

Something twisted in Derek’s stomach at the sight of his father actively ignoring him, the teen knew the older wolf heard him. Why did he ignore him like that?

Once he walked into his mother’s office Derek knew something was seriously wrong. Everyone in the pack was gathered behind his mother’s desk as the Lead Alpha sat pristinely in her chair. They all looked like Derek pissed in their cereal, even Malia was glaring at him, and she’s _4 years old_!

Right as Derek opened his mouth to ask what the hell was going on, his mother spoke. “Sit.”

Without giving it a second thought, Derek sat down on one of the chair directly in front of his mom’s desk. It was a rather large office, nearly the size of the master bedroom, but right in that moment, Derek felt claustrophobic with the way everyone was staring him down. He wanted to crawl inside of his own skin and hide.

“Now,” Talia said, “It has come to my attention that you’ve been bullying another student at your school. One that, at the time, had not presented yet and had no way to defend himself. Is that true?”

Derek sighed in relief, thank god! It’s just this stupid thing, for a second there he thought he actually did something _wrong_. “Mom, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m sure you heard all this from Stilinski right? Don’t listen to him, he’s an attention whore and just trying to play the victim card again. It’s really nothing you need to-”

“Don’t you _dare_ say something like that in this house ever again!” She snapped, “I asked you whether or not what I said was true. Now tell me, yes or no?”

The teen rolled his eyes, “Yes, but-”

“That was a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question Derek, I don’t give a flying fuck about what you say after that.” The older Alpha barked.

Derek is taken back by his mother’s outburst. She has never spoken to him like that before, with such… disgust laced with her words. It hurt more than he’d be willing to admit.

A moment later Laura spoke as she flashed her eyes at him, “It’s not like you have anything to justify what you did. We all saw the videos from the school security cameras the sheriff sent us. You and your little gang beat the kid up until he worked himself into a panic attack! And you didn’t even stop kicking him until he passed out from exhaustion afterwards! What the actual fuck Derek!? You’re so fucking lucky I’m not the Lead Alpha because if I was you’d be kicked out of the pack in an instant!”

Laura’s words hit Derek like a punch in the face. He knew Laura would be mad at him if she found out what he did to Stilinski but she was a total hardass just like his mom! It’s not like it’s his fault Stilinski is a freak! But… to say she’d kick him out of the pack… that… Derek doesn’t even want to think about that possibility.

“Shut up Laura!” Derek snapped, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! If you’d just stop talking and fucking _listen_ to me then you’d understand.”

“Understand what?! That you’re an abusive asshole that picks on people that can’t defend themselves to make yourself feel powerful?! Because everyone in this room already knows that!” Laura said as she growled at him threateningly.

“You got that right.” Tara said. She’d been living with them even since she became pregnant with Malia and Peter proposed. They weren’t soulmates or anything but Peter fell head over heels for her back when he only referred to her as The Desert Wolf. “You’re lucky I’m mated to your uncle or else you’d be in my ‘to kill’ list. Honestly, what the hell were you thinking? Harming a pup that hasn’t even presented yet, are you really that weak of an Alpha to stoop down to such a pathetic level?”

“I am _not_ weak!” Derek growled as his eyes flashed a deep crimson.

He knows he’s not the best fighter in the family, and he knows he’s not the best hunter but that doesn’t make him weak! Not everyone is meant to be a guardian like Laura, who are the protectors of the pack, or a hunter like his dad and Aunt Tara, who are the providers of the pack on full moons, or even an assassin like Peter, who make sure to annihilate threats before they become a danger to the pack. Derek was a tracker, the one that makes sure that everything is where it needs to be and that the pack stays on track. He was the one making sure everything ran smoothly.

Just because he isn’t as physically strong as the others in the pack didn’t mean he was weak!

His mother sneered at his words, “Well you certainly act like it. Only piss poor Alphas would be desperate enough to resort to tormenting someone who hasn’t presented in order to feel powerful. I saw it all the time in my high school years and even a few times during college, it made me sick thinking that someone would stick so low as to harm someone weaker than them due to their own personal inferiority. It’s revolting.”

“It’s not like this is all _my_ fault!! I wouldn’t have done anything if Stilinski hadn’t been such a freak! Honestly the kid should just hang himself already!!”

_Slap_

Derek raised his hand to hold his burning cheek but hissed when he touched the wound. He slowly looked up to see his mother glaring at him with crimson orbs as her face contorted in rage.

“Don’t you _ever_ talk about Stiles like that. You may be my son but I will not tolerate this behavior in my house. Watch your tongue, pup, before I end up kicking you out of this pack after all. Stiles is a wonderful young wolf and I will not stand here and listen as you insult him! You have no right to speak to him in such a way. You have no right to speak to your _soulmate_ in such a way!”

“Wait, Stilinski is your soulmate?!” Cora screeched. “What the fuck Derek!! How could you say something like that! Do you have any idea how rare soulmates are?! Less than 25% of the population finds their soulmate and you’re saying that you want your soulmate to _hang himself_ ! Bullying is one thing Derek, it’s another to want someone to end their life!! What the fuck! Do you need to go to Eichen House or something?! This is _not_ okay Derek!”

“You’re not okay!” He retorts lamely. He can’t think, everything is too loud and the different emotions of anger and disappointment flooding through the pack bonds are not helping the situation. “Just shut the fuck up! All of you! Why doesn’t anyone shut up and listen to me?!”

He didn't understand what the fuck is going on. His pack is saying that what he's doing to Stilinski is horrible but everyone in school loves him for it. Derek doesn't even remember when it all started, it just, happened. Wait... Didn't he and Stiles have chemistry together last year?

_"Class this is Mr. Stilinski he'll be joining us for the rest of the year."_

Right. He got switched into Derek's chemistry class during the second week of school because of schedule changes.

_"Isn't that the really smart freshmen?"_

_"Yeah, the kid's a total brainiac. Didn't his mom die or something?"_

_"I heard he was a total freak."_

_"Yeah me too, Jackson seems to really hate his guts."_

_"With good reason. Rumor has it he's trying to find a way to break a soul bond to steal Lydia away from Whittemore. The kid's a total psycho!"_

Derek remembers hearing hushed whispers about Stilinski throughout the class. Harris didn't seem to care much as he assigned Stiles to his seat.

_"Just sit in the back next to Hale."_

Then someone stuck their foot out and tripped Stilinski while he was walking towards the empty seat next to Derek. The Alpha recalls seeing nearly every page fly out of Stilinski's binder before the kid scurried to get all the pages off the floor as quickly as possible.

And he remembers... helping him...

_"Here, you forgot these."_

_"Oh, uh, thanks. I didn't notice."_

_"No problem."_

_"Umm... you're gripping the paper a little tight there big guy."_

_"What? Oh, sorry, I guess I haven't gotten used to my Alpha strength yet. I presented a few days ago but I'm still having some control issues."_

_"It's fine. Congratulations on presenting. Nice to know at least one of the Alphas in this school isn't an asshole."_

_"I'm sure my siblings would disagree with that."_

Then Stiles laughed. It wasn't a full laugh, just a small chuckle, but... it's the closest thing Derek's ever heard to Stiles' real laugh. He remembers how Stiles' eyes lit up and his lean frame shook slightly as he laughed. He remembers being fascinated by it. He'd never met someone with such a pretty laugh...

Derek suddenly remembers when it all started. It was right after he finished winning the first game of the season in the varsity basketball team.

_"You're Hale right? I'm Jackson Whittemore. You should sit in my table during lunch from now on."_

_"Uh, I don't know, I usually sit with my little sister during lunch."_

_"You mean the one with anger management issues?"_

_"She doesn't have anger management issues. Cora just gets really annoyed when people bother her."_

_"Same thing. She's never going to make friends like that, especially with her big brother sitting with her during lunch. It intimidates people and makes them think she's arrogant."_

_"That's not it at all! I sit with her because she's my sister and I don't want her to be alone not because I don't want anyone talking to her."_

_"Well, if you want people to start talking to her and help her make some friends you should sit at my table."_

_"I... I guess I could do that."_

_"Perfect! Then I'll see you in lunch tomorrow. Oh, and one more thing. You have a class with Stilinski right?"_

_"Stiles? Yeah we sit next to each other in chemistry. Why?"_

_"Just stay away from him. And don't call him 'Stiles' it sounds like you're friends with him or something."_

_"I've only talked to him a handful of times so I wouldn't consider us friends, but, why should I stay away from him?"_

_"Didn't you hear? He's a crazy scientist that is trying to find a way to break a soul bond between soulmates so he can break my bond with Lydia. He's bat shit crazy."_

_"You know it's literally impossible to break a soul bond right? Stiles is smart, yeah, but he's not delusional to reality. He knows his limitations and works around them, he's a pretty literal person from what I've seen so the thought of him actually doing something this stupid is ridiculous. It's probably just a dumb rumor going around."_

_"Why are you trying to defend him? Do you want to fuck him or something?"_

_"What!? No!"_

_"You're face is red. Oh god, you want to bang Stilinski that's disgusting!"_

_"I don't!"_

_"You're such a bad liar."_

_"I don't want to fuck Stilinski! I don't even like him!!"_

_"Then prove it."_

_"How?"_

_"Don't talk to him. Trip him every once in a while. Maybe slam him against a locker or something. Show him what a freak he really is."_

_"Isn't that harassment? That's going to seriously hurt him."_

_"What are you 5? No, this isn't harassment just because it hurt his fucking feelings. As long as he's breathing we'll be fine. Even the teachers are in on it."_

_"I still don't think-"_

_"Do you want your little sister to make friends or not?"_

_"What?"_

_"Do you want Cora to make friends or not? Because if you start being friendly with Stilinski, the already slim chances of her making friends automatically drops to -99000. Do you really want that to happen?"_

_"No..."_

_"Then stick with me. I'll teach you everything you need to know."_

 After that he started treating Stiles differently. He was nervous the first time he did it, when he purposefully tripped Stiles as he walked into their chemistry class. Derek remembers thinking that Stiles would be hurt by his actions. That he was somehow betraying him in some way even though they were never close. But Stiles just grabbed his stuff off the floor and walked to his seat like it was the most normal thing in the world and ignored him during the entire class period.

Derek remembers hating Stiles' lack of response and made it his mission to get the kid to have at least  _some_ sort of reaction. so, he kept pushing.

He started becoming bolder and more aggressive the longer Stiles kept ignoring him. But he never got any reaction out of Stiles. Not until he managed to push the kid into having a panic attack while Derek insulted his mom as he beat him up.

He remembers feeling like it was a low blow but it was the only way he'd managed to get the kid to react. So, he kept going. He started spreading rumors about how Stiles' mom left him and made up stories of her hating him so much she left her soulmate because of him.

It's the only way to have Stiles react to him. The pup doesn't even look his way otherwise.

Derek can feel the pack’s anger through the pack bond. Can feel everyone’s disappointment towards him through the like tidal waves crashing through his body… and it… it hurt.

He can’t stand making his mom so upset, can’t stand making his _pack_ so upset. Yet, here he is, disappointing them. He looked around the room, taking in all the faces of anger and disapproval thrown at him until his eyes rest on his father.

The older wolf looks calm and collected, without a drop of emotion on his face as he stares back at Derek. The teen lets the desperation show through his eyes and internally pleads for his father to say something, to tell everyone to calm down, to tell the pack they're overreacting, to tell them to listen to him.

His dad has always been by his side. Always supported him and stood up for him no matter what. If anyone is going to stand by Derek it’ll be him. He’ll get everyone to settle down and everything will be okay.

“I don’t know how I can call you my son anymore.”

Derek breaks. Everything around him going numb as his father’s words register through his mind. His eyes sting.

“D-dad-”

Derek can hear the desperation in his own voice. He doesn’t understand why everyone is acting like this. He didn’t do anything wrong dammit! This is Stilinski's fault!

Everyone hates him and everyone messes with him! Derek isn’t doing anything that isn’t accepted, everyone does it. Why are they so mad about Derek doing something that everyone in school applauds him for?! Even the teachers smile at him after he screws around with Stilinski! He isn’t doing anything wrong!!

Why can’t they get that?!

“Don’t speak Derek. I can’t- I can’t even stand to look at you.” He says while turning his gaze away from the teen.

“I’m not doing anything wrong!!!” He rawrs, releasing all the anger and frustration that has been boiling inside of him since the beginning of this pointless pack meeting.

It isn’t until he hears a whimper that he snaps out of it. Nora.

He sees Nora trying to hide behind Peter with fear in her eyes as she stares at him.

Guilt washes over Derek’s frame. He didn’t mean to scare his baby sister and he knows that Brandon is standing way closer to Laura than he was a few seconds ago. He’s such an idiot. God, how could he have allowed so much of his control to slip away just by something as insignificant as _Stilinski_? What the fuck is wrong with him?

“I- I didn't mean to-”

“Stop.” His father interrupts, “Just go. You’ve done enough damage as it is.”

Not being able to hold back a pained whimper at his dad’s words, Derek takes one more glance around the room.

Aunt Tara is glaring at him with a clearly disapproving Malia in her arms, Laura is eyeing him with disgust as Brandon avoids his gaze at all costs, Uncle Peter is looking at him coldly while Cora raises a criticizing eyebrow at him, his mom is practically vibrating with rage as his dad looks at him with an expression of complete disappointment, and Nora… Nora is looking at him in terror… as if she just witnessed him ripping someone’s throat out with his teeth.

Derek can’t take it. He can’t take his entire family looking at him like this. He can’t take his little 8 year old sister looking at him with fear in her eyes. He can't take his baby brother not being able to meet his gaze. Without noticing that tears are steadily falling down his face, Derek turns and sprints to his room.

 

* * *

 

Stiles and his dad were in the living room, lounging on the couch eating pizza as they silently watched Star Wars. It’s probably the first time they actually spent time together outside of eating dinner for over half a year and Stiles didn’t realize how much he missed spending time with his dad until this moment.

They were sitting on opposite sides of the couch with the large pizza box settled between them but simply knowing that his dad was in such close vicinity made Stiles and his wolf feel at peace.

It was weird, people always say that the hardest thing about presenting is to get used to your supernatural half, yet, Stiles doesn’t feel strange with his wolf at all. Sure, it’s a new feeling but his wolf’s presence is more calming than anything else.

Maybe that’s what Dr. Deaton was talking about. How Omega werewolves are closer connected to their wolves. If anything, the hardest part about presenting for him is getting used to how loud everything sounds now. He almost flew out of his seat when his dad turned on the TV.

The Alpha had just chuckled and told him that his senses will be more heightened than usual for the first couple of days.

Stiles really didn’t want to think about how school was going to be now that he has enhanced senses. A part of him loves the fact that he finally presented, but, he’s also not looking forward to how people will react to him presenting as an _Omega_.

Teachers don’t talk about Omegas the way they talk about Alphas or Beta during Biology. They probably speak about Omegas for a total of 15 minutes throughout the entire year while the curriculum calls for weeklong lectures about both Alphas and Betas throughout the school year.

Basically, all anyone ever learns about Omegas is that they’re weak, tend to be bonded to Alphas, usually grow up to have a dozen children, and essentially turn into a needy whimpering mess whenever an Alpha’s knot is involved during heats.

So, yeah, Stiles wasn’t exactly looking forward to the entire school finding out that he presented as an Omega of all things. And he especially wasn’t looking forward to the entire school finding out that Derek Hale was his soulmate.

It’s no secret that Derek was one of the most popular guys in school. All the girls want to get in his pants and it’s pretty obvious that some guys want to get in his pants too, but Derek never really dated anyone. Sure, he’d get caught making out with some random girl every once in awhile and sometimes he’d even take it a step further, but it never got past the point of just another high school fling. Derek Hale liked to mess around, everyone knew that, but he didn’t date.

And now he’s apparently Stiles’ soulmate.

Nope. Not going to happen. Ever. Stiles was never going to accept Hale as his soulmate. It’s just not going to happen.

Stiles knew that everyone in school was going to give him shit for being an Omega but he was not going to deal with people thinking he was Derek Hale’s bitch. He won’t stand for it. Stiles has been humiliated by Hale and his friends enough as it is, he won’t put up with people thinking he begs for Derek’s knot 24/7.

God what the hell is going to happen to his dad? He’s going to be campaigning for sheriff again in a few months! If everyone in town thinks that Stiles is a needy Omega that needs to have a knot stuck up his ass everyday then they won’t even consider his father for the position of sheriff.

Why does this have to happen to him?! He’s not even doing anything and he still manages to find a way to mess up his dad’s life. Everything would be so much better if he never existed. Why was he even born? There’s literally no point for him to keep breathing anymore.

His soulmate hates him, his father is going to lose his job because of him, everyone in school loves to make him suffer, the teachers don’t even bat an eyelash when he gets beaten up in front of their door, his mom died hating him, his best friend abandoned him to become friends with his tormentors, and everyone is telling him to fucking kill himself on a daily basis so maybe he should just do everyone a favor and _do it_!!!

.

.

.

No.

No, he can’t do that. If he does that then his dad will be alone. Stiles can’t do that to his dad. The man already lost his wife, it would kill him to lose his son too.

“I’m sorry.” Stiles hears himself say as he stares at his hands. He even _sounds_ pathetic.

His dad gives him a perplexed look, “What are you apologizing for, kiddo?”

Stiles bites his lip nervously before saying, “I… I’m sorry for presenting as an Omega. I mean, it’s not like I could really do anything about it, but, I know you have your re-election campaign for sheriff in a few months and once people find out I’m an Omega your chances of winning are slim to none. I just… I’m sorry I keep messing up your life.”

“Stiles. Do they teach you about Omegas in school?” The Alpha asks suspiciously.

“Yeah, the basics of it, why?”

“And what do they teach you?”

“That Omegas are the weakest category, male Omegas can get pregnant, Omegas depend on Alphas, and Omegas become brainless sex addicts that need to be stuffed with a knot during heat.” Stiles says, the distaste obvious in his words.

Stiles smelled a change in his father’s scent. The previous scent of redwood, gun powder, and coffee turns bitter as an unfamiliar stench blossoms from his father’s direction. Stiles instinctually knows that the scent is anger, but, why would his dad be angry?

Before Stiles could ask about his dad’s strange behavior the Alpha growled out “I’ll be right back.” and went to his room.

The master bedroom is the only part of the house that’s soundproof and his dad usually goes there when he needs to take an important call from the station without worrying about Stiles ~~spying on him~~ overhearing the conversation.

After about 20 minutes his dad finally reemerges from the room.

“So… what was that about?” Stiles inquired. He’s curious okay?

“You’ll find out tomorrow.” The Alpha said nonchalantly.

Okay… that’s not ominous whatsoever…

After a few minutes of silence between them the older man looked at Stiles inquisitively.

“You don’t mess up my life.” His father said.

“What?”

“When you apologized for being an Omega. You said that you keep messing up my life. You don’t mess up my life, Stiles, you make my life worth living.”

Stiles didn’t know how to respond to that, so, he just smiled softly at his dad and turned his attention back to the movie.

They stayed in comfortable silence from that moment on and a few hours later when Star Wars marathon was over his dad squeezed the back of his neck firmly before heading off to bed. Stiles knew that the Alpha was scent marking him, scent marking has always been a part of his life growing up, but this time felt completely different compared to all the times his dad would scent make him before he presented.

It used to always feel like someone touching him but now it felt like an itch he didn’t even realize was there had finally disappeared. It was… nice.

Stiles had always considered himself a tactile person but this is on a completely different level. It felt like something sacred, something that should only be shared with pack.

With that Stiles trudged up the stairs to his room and tried his best to not think about the shit show that will undoubtedly go down tomorrow at school.

There’s no doubt in his mind that Derek and his royal court are going to try to ‘teach him a lesson’ or some shit equally as stupid at some point tomorrow. But at least this time he actually has a chance to fight back.

The teachers might give him a referral or something but Stiles is done letting everyone step all over him. Before he was the weak human that couldn’t do anything and now that he actually _can_ do something Stiles wasn’t going to waste another second of his life doing nothing as Derek and his posse of assholes treat him like crap.

It will definitely get him in trouble, but, Stiles is determined to finally let his voice be heard after all the abuse.

He isn’t going to hold anything back anymore.

 

* * *

 

Stiles woke up as he usually did to go to school but this time he actually stopped and looked at what he had inside his closet. Now that he presented he didn’t have to wear layer after layer of flannel to hide his bruises anymore since now he has enhanced healing abilities, so, today he opted for something a bit outside of his usual wardrobe.

He gets a pair of dark jeans and a solid navy blue t-shirt along with a black hoodie in case it gets cold enough that he actually needs to wear it. He doesn’t think he will since his body temperature increased by a solid 10 degrees after he presented but it was almost December so he’ll stuff it in his book bag just in case.

Stiles takes his time in the shower instead of rushing through it like he usually would. It’s nice. Peaceful even. The warm water gently dripping down his skin is incredibly relaxing and the feeling of his fingers massaging his scalp as he shampoos his hair is absolutely blissful. Stiles wouldn’t mind going to school at the same time as everyone else if it meant he could take his time in the shower.

Once he’s dressed and ran his fingers through his hair enough times to make it somewhat presentable, Stiles makes his way to the kitchen. It’s still only 5 in the morning but that’s relatively late compared to how his usual morning routine went. He eats a pack of poptarts along with some orange juice before grabbing the keys to the jeep and heading off to school.

Paige is already in the music room when he arrives.

“Hey, Stiles! Looks like I won today.” The Beta says with a teasing smirk.

Stiles rolls his eyes as he makes his way towards the piano, “It’s not a competition, Paige.”

“Whatever, I still won. So, why did you get here so late? Aren’t you always here at the crack of dawn?”

The younger wolf shrugs, “I didn’t feel the need to rush.”

Paige gives him an accusing look. She knows why he’s always at school so early in the morning, it’s how she found out about the bullying in the first place. Stiles knows the exact moment she sees the soul mark on his neck.

“Oh my god… Stiles you… you have a soul mark on your neck. You… oh my god you _presented_! I’m so happy for you!!”

Before Stiles knew what was going on Paige pulled him into a crushing hug. He tensed at first but then slowly relaxed into the older werewolf’s embrace. It felt amazing. Paige’s scent surrounded him like a comforting blanket and the feeling of her arms around him made him feel safe and loved. He never wanted it to end.

He knew he was going to regret letting Paige hug him when she made a confused noise against his neck.

“Wait… you smell… different. Kind of, sweet? Like an...” Paige’s head flew up and stared into his eyes. She didn’t let him go completely but Stiles could feel his wolf whining at the lose of the contact.

“Omega.” She whispered in awe.

Stiles bit his lip and tried to avoid her gaze as he nodded. He’d been so distracted in his own thoughts of how the school would treat him when they found out about his Omega status that he completely forgot about how _Paige_ would treat him.

He didn’t want to lose the only friend he had in the entire school, especially over something he had no control over. He would have been perfectly happy if he’d just presented as a simple Beta.

“That’s amazing!” She exclaimed, “Do you have any idea how rare male Omegas are? This is incredibly Stiles! Congratulations, you’re soulmate must be ecstatic! Oh my gosh! Who’s your soulmate?! Do I know them? Do they go to this school? If they do then you _have_ to tell me who they are, I need to do the whole ‘hurt him and I’ll kill you speech’, it’s my responsibility as your friend.”

Stiles chuckles at Paige’s reaction but can’t help the sad smile that appears on his face.

“Don’t worry, you don’t need to threaten anyone, nothing is going to happen. My soulmate hates me.”

“What do you mean your soulmate hates you?! You’re amazing Stiles!”

“They don’t seem to think so.” Stiles says solemnly. It’s not like he _wants_ Derek to like him, it’s just the thought of his own soulmate hating him isn’t one he’s particularly fond of. He thought maybe he’d meet someone that would love him wholeheartedly. Guess not.

“Well then your soulmate is an idiot and doesn’t fucking deserve you.”

Stiles knows that. He does. He just… it’s hard for him to understand why the fates would do this. All he wanted was someone who would love him, weird corks and all, it didn’t even have to be his soulmate. He just wanted _someone_. It was probably too much to ask… no one would dare love a freak.

“Stiles?”

“Oh, sorry. I was just… thinking.”

Paige levels him with a look that says she knows exactly what he was thinking about. He fidgets again. Paige always knows what’s wrong with him somehow. It's, like, this weird psychic power she has or something.

She places a delicate hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up at her.

“Hey, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but, I’ll always be there to listen whenever you need me.”

Stiles doesn’t say anything. He really doesn’t want to talk about Derek right now. But he gives her what he hopes is a reassuring smile.

Paige offers him a sad smile but doesn’t say anything else as she readies her cello.

“I’ve been working on the song Lay Me Down by Sam Smith on my cello. Specifically the Nicholas Yee cello cover for it. You wanna hear it?”

“Is that even a question?” Stiles says with a slight laugh. “Of course I want to hear it. I love hearing you play your cello Paige.”

She smiles brightly at his words before taking a deep breath and commencing the song. It was beautiful. Paige always managed to get Stiles hooked on every song she played. She was an amazing cellist and she always looked so captivated by the music, as if she had forgotten about the rest of the world and let the music take over her movements.

It was a sight to see.

Stiles stayed longer than usual in the music room. Just enjoying the melody that he and Paige were both creating together. It wasn’t until there was only 15 minutes left for the final bell to ring that they parted ways and went to class.

Before Stiles could get to his classroom, however, he was cornered by Derek’s little gang. Stiles doesn’t have time for this shit.

“Stilinski! What the fuck did you do to Hale!?”

“I didn’t do anything to him Jackson.” Stiles stated calmly as the kanima glared at him.

Erica sneered, “Yes you fucking did you liar! Derek is acting all distant and he says he can’t hang out with us anymore because he’s grounded! And when we asked him why the only thing he said was ‘Stilinski’ so don’t even try to act like you didn’t do anything you fucker!!”

“Wait, is that a soulmark?” Isaac inquired before bursting out laughing. “Oh my god! Someone is actually going to be soul bonded to you for eternity, that’s so fucking sad! I feel so bad for the poor sap that got stuck with you as a soulmate. Who is it? Who’s the poor unfortunate soul that is ‘destined’ to be with you? We better start planning their funeral now, being bonded to you would be more than enough reason to commit suicide.”

The entire group laughs along with Isaac. Stiles is starting to lose his patience.

“Hold on, what’s that smell?” Boyd asks, causing everyone else to take a deep breathe in order to catch the scent.

Lydia’s eyes land on him, “Omega.”

Everything freezes, all eyes on Stiles as they come to the same realization. Jackson breaks the silence first.

“Wow… not only are you a freak, but you’re a bitch too!”

“Damn, where’s your Alpha Stilinski?” Erica says with a wolfish grin on her face, “Shouldn’t they be knotting you right now? I heard Omegas go crazy if they’re not stuffed with a knot every hour.”

“Don’t be rude Erica,” Lydia reprimands. “It’s disrespectful to think that any dignified Alpha would put their knot anywhere near Stilinski. They’re probably ashamed about all this enough as it is, there’s no need to pour salt on the Alpha’s wound.”

Erica snickered, “You’re right, my bad. I should have known no one would be insane enough to bang Stilinski. The very thought of it is pathetic.”

Yeah, no, Stiles has dealt with too much of this to put up with their insults. He doesn’t care what the fuck they think about him but this is too fucking much. He won’t put up with this.

Time for them to get a piece of his mind. Stiles is done dealing with their shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all the positive comments and overall support for this fic, I'm not gonna lie the comments about this being plagiarism really hurt me but I definitely won't stop writing it just because of a few negative comments. Again thanks for all your support and I can't wait to hear what you all have to say about this chapter :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup y'all once again D_N can't keep up with deadlines and hasn't been able to edit. I apologize for any mistakes I have made during this chapter. I tried my best, hope you enjoy :)

Stiles is done listening to same idiotic shit time after time. Did Erica really just say that no one would be insane enough to bang him?

That's fucking priceless.

"I'm sorry, what language are you speaking? Because it sounds an awful lot like bullshit considering you put love notes in my locker at the end of every week throughout all of last year before you presented as a Beta. Yeah, I knew about that, you aren't the most secretive person in the world. The blushing whenever I looked at you really gave you away."

The face Erica gave him was the most convincing impersonation of a fish Stiles had ever seen. He's going to enjoy this.

"Also, you all have this strange little habit of telling me to kill myself but if I really wanted to commit suicide I would have climbed up to your egos and jumped down to your IQs a long ass time ago." Stiles announced. He's so done with everything he's had to deal with that he doesn't even care that a group of students have begun crowding the hallway and listening to their conversation.

Isaac growled, "Did you just call me dumb!?"

Stiles rolled his eyes, "The fact that you asked me that just proves my point."

"You can't insult me like that, freak!"

"Oh, that's right! Sorry honey, I forgot that sarcasm falls out of my mouth like stupid falls out of yours." He says with a sweet smile plastered on his face.

The glare he receives from the curly haired Beta is the definition of perfection. God, they have no idea what he's been holding back all this time.

"The fuck is wrong with you Stilinski?!" Jackson sneers, "You think you can talk to us like this because you presented? Well, guess what, you're an _Omega_ , the weakest category of all and you don't even have an Alpha to stand up for you."

"I don't need a fucking Alpha to stand up for me. And yes, I _can_ talk to you like this because guess what Jackson, I'm allergic to stupidity and your group is a walking blob of it. So, excuse me for breaking out in sarcasm, it's one of my symptoms, another one is the inability to give a fuck about your opinion." Stiles spat.

By then an entire crowd of students were eagerly watching them, some of them even had their phones out recording everything.

“Don’t talk to Jackson like that, Stilinski! I will make your life a living hell if you insult my soulmate again.”

“First of all, my life is already a living hell, so, that’s a pretty pathetic threat. Also, don’t act like you and Jackson are some sort of power couple that love each other, everyone knows you have sex with Aiden whenever you and Jackson get into another one of your hissy fights that happen every week. So don’t give me that ‘hurt the love of my life and I’ll kill you’ bullshit.”

Gasps resounded through the hallway at Stiles’ declaration. It’s a known rule in this school that no one brings up Lydia’s constant flings with Aiden, even if everyone knew about it. Even Jackson knew about it, he just chooses not to address it and acts like his soulmate doesn't fuck an Alpha werewolf whenever they fight.

The entire situation was laughable really. Here he is, being tormented by the entire school simply because of a rumor that he's trying to 'break Lydia and Jackson's soul bond' so he could have Lydia all to himself while Aiden and Lydia are having sex with each other and no one is saying anything about it!

It's ridiculous. Lydia, Alpha Banshee, is having sexual intercourse with Aiden, Alpha werewolf, when she's already soul bonded to Jackson Whittemore and no one gives a shit. But when someone says Stiles Stilinski is trying to break their soul bond all hell breaks loose.

Everyone in this school is a fucking joke.

“But we can’t really blame Jackson for that, can we?” Stiles continued, “It’s obvious you only sleep around with people to get your parent’s attention. When was the last time they actually paid attention to you for more than a few seconds? 4th grade? Yeah, that seems about right. So, let me make this very clear for you, I may not be perfect but at least I’m not you. I’d probably die if my life revolved around trying to please people that don’t even like me and getting my daddy’s attention.”

Lydia glared murderously at him but the effect was ruined by the wetness in her eyes. Erica stomped over to him and growled in his face.

“What game do you think you’re playing Stilinski? You’re just making up shit because everyone hates you.” She snarled

Stiles snorts, "It’s not like you’re any better. Do you really think everyone suddenly went from laughing at your epilepsy and taking videos of you pissing yourself to becoming your friends? Because, they didn’t, they’re only nice to you because you basically turned into a hot cheerleader over night the day you presented. Did you know, the only reason I never talked to you last year was because I thought you were really sweet and I didn't want you to be teased for being friends with a 'freak'? Because that's honestly the only reason I never tried being friends with you. Then one day I come to school and find the girl I thought was the sweetest, most incredible person ever acting like a total bitch and hanging out with Lydia Martin's Royal Buffoons. So, if you hate me, that’s fine, I don’t wake up everyday to please a dildo like you.”

“Dildo? The fuck!?” Erica exclaims confusedly.

“Oh, I’d call you a dick but you’re not real enough to qualify. So, dildo seemed more appropriate.” He stated with a shrug.

“That’s enough.” Boyd announced, “You need to stop, Stilinski. You have no right to speak to my soulmate like that. I’ve never had any part in this little game my friends seem to like playing with you, but, I will hurt you if you say something like that to Erica again.”

“Never had any part?” Stiles said with a laugh bubbling in his throat. “Didn’t you do a presentation on bullying earlier this year? What was it you said? The bystander is worst than the assaulter? Because, I don’t know what kind of alternate reality you’re living in Boyd, but, _you’re_ the bystander. You just stand and do _nothing_ as you watch your friends beat the shit out of me and don’t say anything when they all start horrible, false rumors about me around the school. So, just going by your own words, _you_ had the most part in this ‘little game’ called _harassment_!”

Isaac growled, “It’s not harassment if you never say anything about it.”

“Really? That's funny coming from you considering the abusive asshole you had for a father. Did you forget what that bastard did to you after you were adopted by the Whittemore family last year or something?” Stiles inquired while glaring at the Beta.

Isaac hesitated, “Th-that’s different.”

“No Isaac, it isn't. You think what you're doing is fine, but it's not. What you're doing is called bullying, it's called harassment, it's called _abuse._ If it's unwanted then it's harassment, plain and simple. I woke up everyday fearing what might happen when I left my bed and I always wore layers upon layers of clothing to make sure no one saw my bruises. Out of everyone else _you_ should have been the one to understand what that feels like and if you truly believe that what you did to me wasn't wrong, then, I just have one thing to tell you. You are _exactly_ like your father.”

Isaac visibly flinched back at Stiles’ declaration, “I am n-nothing like that man.”

“You sure? Because you’ve physically harmed me to the point where I had bruises for weeks, you’ve emotionally tormented me until I had a panic attack, you’ve even fucking locked me in the cafeteria refrigerator during free period!! What more proof do you fucking want Lahey?! You. Are. Just. Like. Your. Dad. Congratulations! I hope you’re fucking proud of yourself.”

Stiles takes a deep breath before looking at the group in front of him with a cold glare set on his face.

“The same thing goes to the rest of you. Hope you enjoyed the reign of terror that you’ve had going on before I presented because those days are over. I may be an Omega but I’m not going to let anyone treat me like crap; I’ve dealt with too much of your bullshit to keep giving a fuck. So, now I won’t, and if anyone tries to pull something on me again I’m going to give them a lesson they’ll never forget. Now, why don’t you all just turn around, walk away, and _keep your miserable asses away from me_.”

With that, Stiles turned around and walked towards his class. He might have smirked when he heard someone snicker, _You all just got your asses handed to you by an Omega!_

Okay, fine, he’ll admit it. He definitely smirked.

 

* * *

 

Cora couldn't believe her eyes, she stared at her phone in complete shock as she watched the video someone sent her.

Stilinski was fucking awesome!

No one has ever spoken up against the BHHS Royal Snobs before. Everyone was scared shitless of Lydia Martin, which meant they feared the rest of those assholes by association.

Though, Allison was really nice despite being best friends with Lydia and somehow had no idea about what Lydia and her little pack do to people like Stiles.

If the sweet vampire wasn’t totally head over heels for Scott, Cora would have sworn that her and Lydia were fucking.

Scott was a completely different story though. He was very aware of what was going on with Stiles and chose to ignore it entirely.

The teen sometimes glances at Stiles with puppy dog eyes when they pass by each other in the hallway but doesn’t acknowledge his supposed ‘best friend’ in the slightest whenever Stiles tries to talk to him.

Cora always felt bad for Stilinski. He didn’t do anything to deserve being treated like shit by everyone. And he definitely didn’t do anything to deserve having his best friend ditch him for the popular group that always tormented him.

She couldn’t stand seeing those dickheads bully Stilinski before he presented. Bullying is awful either way but to do it when someone hasn’t presented yet is just cruel.

Cora had to keep from scratching their eyeballs out more than a few times whenever she witnessed the abuse.

She couldn't do anything about it though. At least, not directly.

Jackson and his little gang haven’t just been targeting Stiles. They make sure that her high school experience was torture as well.

Although they obviously don’t mistreat her to the same extent they treat Stiles, they still made her life a living hell. She would have beat the shit out of them a long ass time ago if it hadn’t been for the fucking snake that is Lydia Martin.

One day after Cora was done with track practice Lydia sneaked into the shower rooms and took multiple pictures of her completely naked.

Usually, Cora wouldn’t have cared about something like that but Lydia photocopied it to make it look as if she was with a guy. And not just any guy.

Scott.

Cora can’t imagine what kind of shit she’d get into if that photo ever leaked out.

Stiles was going through so much simply because Jackson and Lydia claimed that he is trying to break their bond. She doesn’t want to find out what the hell would happen to her if people saw an actual picture of her and Scott in the shower together.

Especially not since it looked like she had her hand wrapped around his dick. Cora can just imagine the kind of shit storm that would happen if that photo ever gets uploaded.

Not only will that make her the new whore of BHHS but that will definitely make an enemy of the Argent family. Even though vampires and werewolves have been living in peace for generations the bad blood between them is still very much alive.

One wrong move and an all out war can rage up between them. The fact that Cora belongs to the Hale pack, one of the most privileged and influential werewolf packs in the country, doesn’t help the situation.

Not to mention the fact that the Argents are a pure blood vampire family that basically ruled all of Europe from the 17th to 20th century and still are the equivalent of vampire royalty to this day.

It doesn't even matter whether the photo was real or not. If that image ever reached the Argents it would be seen as a challenge and a blatant sign of disrespect towards their name and power. No matter if it was 100% fake and everyone knew that Scott would never do that to Allison.

The guy was a love sick puppy whenever it came to her.

So, unless she wants to start a fight with the Argents -which she definitely doesn’t- Cora needs to keep her mouth shut and not piss off Lydia Martin. Which, unfortunately, includes staying quiet about what they’re doing to Stiles.

But now she doesn’t need to keep quiet since Greenburg posted the video of Stiles telling them off on YouTube. The video has only been up for a few hours and it already has 25k views.

And the comments are fucking priceless. This one person went on a rant about Stiles and his ‘sexy as fuck’ arms.

Which, now that she thinks about it, is actually kind of true. This is the first time that Stiles isn't covered in 5 pounds of flannel and Cora has to admit that he has a pretty nice build.

It’s not like his muscles are bulging out or anything but it’s obvious that he’s not as weak and scrawny as everyone originally thought.

When it was finally time for lunch Cora quickly got up from her seat and searched for Stiles. She knows that he usually stays away from the cafeteria during lunch to avoid any confrontations, but, considering Stilinski’s new attitude, Cora has a feeling that he’ll be in the cafeteria today.

Cora smirked when she saw Stiles leaving the lunch line.

He was leaving the cafeteria but at least he actually went to go get lunch instead of just not eating like he normally would. It’s progress.

Just as she’s about to catch up to him, some idiot sticks his foot out and purposely trips her. The entire table bursts out laughing. Stupid jocks.

Cora feels her eyes flash gold and snarls at the moron that tripped her.

The guy smirked, “Down girl, wouldn't want your anger issues to get the best of you.”

That’s it! This guy is about to lose an eye.

But before she could even get up from thee ground, Stilinski dumps all his food on the guy’s face. “Sorry dude.” He says without the least bit of remorse.

The guy flashed his eyes at Stiles. Alpha wereleopard.

“Down boy, wouldn't want people to think you have anger issues.” Stiles said as he turns his back to him -taunting him- before helping her get up from the floor.

The guy is growling but doesn’t make a move toward Stiles. The Omega smiles sweetly at him before leaving the cafeteria.

Cora follows him.

“You didn’t have to do that.” She stats, causing him to look back at her.

He shrugs, “I know.”

Cora narrows her eyes at him. “Then why did you do it?”

“He irritated me.” Stiles explained before a smirk graced his lips, “Plus, he would have been dead by now if I hadn’t intervened. He’s an idiot if he thought he could get away with doing something like that to Cora Hale and live to tell the story.”

Cora grinned wolfishly, “Damn straight.”

She sees a small smile tug at the corner of his lips. Large whiskey eyes overflowing with kindness as they meet her own.

Cora realizes that this is the first time she has ever seen Stiles’ eyes convey any sort of feeling. Normally his eyes are vacant and dull, disconnected from the world around him. His face is not much different, always serious and mellowed out, as if immune to all emotions.

But now… now Stiles is allowing himself to let down his guard. He’s letting her see him for who he really is and Cora is astonished by the trust Stiles is showing her.

Stiles has been bullied by Jackson for basically his entire life and for the past 2 years has been facing major abuse and neglect from nearly everyone in the entire school simply due to a stupid rumor. He’s been hurt and humiliated by not only Jackson and his groupies but his soulmate.

Whether or not they knew they were soulmates at the time doesn’t lessen the excruciating pain he must be feeling, yet, he stood up for her.

He stood up for a girl he doesn’t know in the slightest as well as the younger sister of his abusive soulmate simply because he thought it was the right thing to do.

Cora doesn’t know what the fuck decided to possess her in that specific moment, but, before she could even realize what her body was doing, she was wrapping her arms around Stiles and giving him a bone crushing hug.

The Omega froze in her grip but soon returned the hug. It felt… weird hugging someone that wasn’t blood related to her, but, it was kind of… nice.

She buried her nose in the crook of his neck and inhaled deeply. Stiles smelled like amber, vanilla, and caffeine with a sweetened undertone to it that clearly reveals his Omega status.

It was an extremely calming scent to be around.

After a moment they both separated from their unexpected embrace and Cora coughed awkwardly as she felt her ears burn in embarrassment. She’s never initiated physical contact with anyone outside of the Hale family before.

Cora has no idea why her control slipped so suddenly around the other wolf.

“Tell anyone this happened and I’ll stab you with a fork.” She snapped, but there was no real heat behind it.

Stiles simply snorted and jokingly punched her shoulder. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. Forks won’t be needed Cor.”

Cora smiled brightly at him. She can’t remember the last time someone wasn’t scared shitless of her threats. This is starting to look like the beginnings of a beautiful friendship.

“Good, it’s always a sad day when I have to lose another perfectly good fork.” She says teasingly.

Stiles chuckles and his entire face lights up with an easy joy that has never been there before. Yeah, they’re definitely going to be good friends. She’ll make sure of it.

If Cora ever sees anyone giving Stiles a hard time again she’ll make sure they experience the full wrath of the Hale Pack.

Lydia Martin and her stupid picture can go jump off a cliff. Now that the video of Stiles exposing all the horrible things they did to him was on YouTube for everyone to see, Lydia and her photo shopped blackmail mean nothing.

Not only does it expose her for being a manipulative and abusive bitch but it also brings to light her little flings with Aiden which basically counts as adultery since her and Jackson already completed the soul bond. So, now, if she uploads that photo anywhere people will just think she's doing it out of spite and won't bat an eyelash at it, automatically assuming it to be fake.

Cora has nothing holding her back anymore.

 

* * *

 

Stiles was walking through the hallways towards his last class of the day with Cora by his side. Their classes were just across the hall from each other and he’s quickly become very fond of the female Beta.

People view her as aggressive and imposing but she’s actually really funny and nice. Though, she is insanely protective of him for some reason. It doesn’t bother him though.

It’s pretty enduring actually.

However, just as they were both about to part ways and go into their designated classrooms, the speakers rang out through the corridors.

_Good afternoon students, this is Principal Anderson and I am here to inform you that ALL students and faculty must report to the school auditorium immediately. Do NOT report to your last period at this time. I repeat ALL students and faculty MUST report to the auditorium immediately. Thank you._

Stiles and Cora both turned to one another in confusion before shrugging and walking towards the school auditorium.

Whatever this is at least it’s getting him out of AP European History. Why did he decide to take an AP history class? He doesn’t even _like_ history!

When they finally reached the auditorium Stiles and Cora took a seat near the back and watched as other students and teachers looked around aimlessly in search for why they randomly all needed to be in the auditorium.

It wasn’t until everyone was seated and the huge double doors were closed that they saw a petite woman with black hair and brown skin make her way onto the podium set in the front of the stage.

“Hello everyone, my name is Marin Morrell and I would usually go on for a good 5 minutes explaining my title and position in the education system to intimidate you, but, given this peculiar situation, I would much rather cut to the chase. Basically I am the one that creates all your curriculum guidelines. No textbook or exam gets approved without having my personal stamp of approval.”

There is nothing but dead silence in the room as everyone registers her words.

“Now, it has come to my attention that certain schools have been neglecting to inform the students of specific core elements in their curriculum. But before I get onto that I’d like for the following teachers to please come to the stage once their name is called.”

Ms. Morrell then starts counting off name after name as the requested teachers start heading towards the stage.

They all seem to be mainly science and history teachers. All of them have witnessed Stiles being harassed and all of them stood back and did nothing.

Some even gave him detention for ‘disturbing other students’ as they tried to get to class.

Ms. Morrell stared at all of them as they stood in a line along the stage. She smirked, “All the names of which I called are now dismissed.”

Stiles couldn’t help but snort at the looks of total confusing on all their faces.

“What? I-I don’t understand.” One of them said.

“Dismissed. As is let go, sacked, pink-slipped, laid off, discharged, fired. Should I continue?”

A woman glared and announced, “You can’t simply fire us for no reason! We have done nothing wrong.”

Ms. Morrell raised an eyebrow at her, “Really now? Because according to my sources you have all neglected to teach your students of Omega related studies and that consists of 30% of their high school curriculum. Failing to educate students of such a fundamental part of their society is a direct violation of your contract.”

“You can’t be serious. This is-”

Ms. Morrell cuts her off before she could continue.

“Not to mention you’ve given your students false information about the Omega category. Glossing over Omega specified information is already a severe issue, placing unethical theories and prejudices into the minds of high school students is just the icing on the cake. Now, I suggest you start looking for a new career because your teaching licenses are going to be permanently terminated and I’ll make sure to make it astronomically impossible for any of you to find work in the education business.”

A moment later all the teachers on stage were being escorted out of the school by a couple of buff scary looking dudes in suits.

Cora said one of them looked like Mr. Bubbles from Lilo & Stitch which caused Stiles to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

“So,” The room instantly grows silent at the sound of Ms. Morrell's voice. “I am here today to clear up a few misconceptions some of you might have about the Omega category. Can someone give me an example of what you know about Omegas?”

“They're the weakest of the categories.”

“Yes, they are usually not as physically strong as Betas and Alphas.” Morrell says with a tight smile. “Anything else?”

“They’re knot sluts during heat.”

Everyone laughs.

Suddenly the room bursts with other ‘Omega facts’ that they've all learned over the years.

“They can't live without an Alpha.”

“Omegas are submissive and obedient to others.”

“Male Omegas can get pregnant.”

“They are runts and should just stay home while the Alphas take care of everything else.”

“Omegas are addicted to sex and need to be knotted daily in order to be content.”

And more just kept coming. No one would shut up. The room was echoing with insults and laughter that just kept getting louder by the second.

Stiles couldn't think. His breaths were becoming short and rapid. The noise in the room was becoming a distant buzz around him and the words being shouted around the room resound loudly in the corridors of his brain.

The young werewolf shut his eyes, not even noticing that Cora was becoming increasingly more worried the longer she kept calling his name without getting a reply.

He just wanted it all to stop.

Stiles already knew all of these things, he didn't need to be reminded of how much of a failure he was. Why can't they all just leave him the fuck alone for once?!

“ _Enough_.”

Ms. Morrell’s voice silenced the cacophony of noise resounding throughout the auditorium.

“This is exactly why I am here today. Nearly all of the things you claim to know about Omegas are based off deep rooted prejudices and old stereotypes. While it is true that they do go into heat as well as the fact that male Omegas can get pregnant the rest of what you all said was completely false.”

Everyone instantly starts to murmur their confusion at Ms. Morrell’s words.

“Omegas are not ‘knot sluts’ as you seem to call it and they don’t depend on Alphas to survive. Although it is true that most Omegas tend to be mated to Alphas they would be perfectly happy if they were mated to a Beta category or, in rare cases, another Omega despite the fact that neither Beta or Omega categories have Knots. Another thing about the Omega category is that they are not submissive towards others. Same as Betas and Alphas, the personality and traits of an Omega depend strictly on the individual and has nothing to do with their category. The only personality trait that all Omegas share is their protective instinct.”

Stiles can’t believe it. He didn’t know that so many of the things he’s been taught about Omegas since he was a freshmen have been lies.

Maybe he’s not a disappointment to his dad after all.

“Also, the idea that Omegas become sex drunk during heat is a myth. The reason behind the name ‘heat’ is because every 4 months there is one week when an Omega’s body temperature drops back to how it normally was before they presented in order to make them more fertile. This causes the Omega to experience symptoms of hyperthermia and seek warmth from their mate. The reason why people see heat as a sex marathon in modern days is because when an Omega is in heat their scent is heightened which causes Alphas to feel aroused. The action of sexual intercourse helps to warm the Omega back up as well as satisfy an Alpha’s need to breed so the concept of heat adding up to sex is a socially accepted construct, however, an Omega can go through a heat perfectly fine without the need for sexual intercourse as long as they have their mate’s body heat to keep them warm. So, in reality, the true ‘sex addicts’ during heat are the Alphas not the Omegas.”

This is… this is amazing. Stiles wasn’t really scared about his heats since Deaton told him they wouldn’t start until a week after he and Derek solidified the soul bond -which is never going to happen- but to know that all those things about Omegas going blind with lust and begging to be stuffed by an Alpha’s knot during heat was all bullshit made him feel extremely smug.

Ha! Take that assholes!!

“Now, as you’ve previously stated Omegas are the weakest when it comes to physical strength out of the 3 categories. But, be very careful when in the presence of an Omega experiencing Omega Rage. An Omega in Omega Rage is highly dangerous and can be just as powerful as a full grown Alpha. Omega Rage is usually triggered when Omegas are defending their offspring from extreme danger or when they feel their mate’s life is being threatened. There are a few instances in which Omega Rage has been reached when an Omega feels like their own life is in danger but, for the most part, Omega Rage is only triggered when an Omega protects their offspring or mate. Omegas become almost feral while experiencing Omega Rage as their wolf takes complete control and all sense of morality and mercy leave the Omega’s mind. All they see is a threat they must annihilate, so, I suggest not provoking them, especially if they aren’t yet mated. You never know what can trigger an unbonded Omega into Omega Rage.”

Omega Rage, huh. Dr. Deaton never mentioned that when he presented yesterday, but, then again, he wasn’t paying the most attention when his dad started asking Deaton about other things he didn’t originally explain when Derek was with him.

He just couldn’t believe that bastard had the audacity to come with him to the hospital. His symptoms probably wouldn’t have gotten as bad if the stupid Alpha hadn’t started hurting him.

The pressure of Derek’s arm practically choking him as the older wolf pushed down against his neck and the feeling of his own skin boiling inside of him was too much for Stiles to handle.

“Interestingly enough Omegas were actually war generals and military strategists for a great majority of history, including WWI and WWII.”

What? Did Stiles hear that correctly?

Ms. Morrell smirks as she watches all the students look at her with confused and disbelieving expressions. “It’s true. Although most Omegas stayed home during times of war to protect their offspring, the Omegas that _did_ go to war always managed to reach levels of high status in the military due to their fast speeds and amazing analytical abilities. It is known that Alphas are the brawns of the 3 categories, but, Omegas are the brains. They are quick thinkers and rigorous planners, virtually nothing escapes their sharp eye which makes them the perfect candidates to become war generals and strategists.”

Someone sneers from the other side of the auditorium. Stiles can’t see them from where him and Cora are sitting but he can tell it’s Derek that’s speaking.

“If Omegas were so amazing in the military then why was there a law passed a few years after WWII prohibiting Omegas from entering the military?” Derek growls.

Stiles wants to get up and kick him in the balls.

Ms. Morrell eyes him up, “I’m sure you’re aware of the Alpha category’s possessiveness, correct?”

Derek nods his head slowly, not sure what the make of the sudden change of topic.

“Well, that includes their job and positions, so, to put it in simple terms, the Alphas got butt hurt that the Omegas occupied all those high ranks in the military when they felt that they as Alphas were the ones that deserved to be in those positions. And since congress consists of mainly Alpha categories they passed the law to insure the Omegas couldn’t occupy those positions anymore.”

Ms. Morrell then looks around the auditorium at the sea of teenage faces staring at her in shock. She smiled. “Does anyone have any more questions regarding Omega categories?”

No one spoke up.

The smile gracing her features was sickeningly sweet yet somehow managed to look like a predator about to eat it’s prey. “Excellent. I hope you all learned some important information about Omegas today, you are free to leave once the final bell rings.”

She then turns and exits the stage, heading straight towards the principal and starting what looks like a deep discussion about something important. Probably how in the world they’re going to find 17 teachers to replace the ones Ms. Morrell just fired.

Stiles couldn’t bring himself to care. All that was on his mind was how this day had gone _way_ better than he ever expected it to be.

 

* * *

  

Derek spent his entire day in a haze.

He could hardly remember what happened in any of his classes and could barely score any shots when he went to the gym to practice basketball during lunch.

The whole day has just been a mantra of his father’s words repeating themselves time and time again in his mind.

_I don’t know how I can call you my son anymore._

Those words hurt Derek to the very core. Him and his dad have always been close, closer than Laura and his mom even, so, to hear those words of utter disappointment and defeat directed at him completely destroyed Derek.

The only person left to find out about this shit storm that is his life is Michael.

He’s in Berkeley right now but Derek doesn’t doubt for a second that Laura will inform him of everything that's going on.

He’s mentally preparing himself for an extremely outraged voice mail and thousands of texts asking about his level of stupidity. Because that’s what Michael does, while Laura questions his morality, Michael questions his intelligence. They were the masters of guilt tripping while growing up.

It’s almost like their parents were having a competition to see how many kids they could have before his mom hit menopause.

Michael was the oldest of all of them currently 23, soon followed by Laura who doesn’t stop bragging about her legal drinking age of 21, which then leads to Derek with 17 years under his belt, along with Cora who is freshly 16, then comes Brandon with his young age of 12, and finally finishing off with Nora who is an 8 year old firecracker.

Seriously, were his parents trying to build a daycare or something? _Jesus_.

And Derek doesn’t even want to think about his little cousin Malia. She just turned 4 and he can already tell she’s going to be a problem child. She’s a carbon copy of her mom, Tara, although she prefers to be addressed as the ‘Desert Wolf’ whenever she’s working.

Aunt Tara is a well known tattoo artist and she’s the leader of a biker gang that consists of solely werecoyotes. Considering Malia is a werecoyote as well Derek can only imagine that she’ll join in once she’s old enough to ride a motorcycle.

Derek isn’t really sure how Uncle Peter and Aunt Tara met each other. All he knows is that they had a one night stand that quickly turned into casual hook ups which escalated to a friends with benefits kind of thing until they eventually decided to start dating.

Then 2 or so years later Aunt Tara became pregnant with Malia and Uncle Peter finally gained the balls to propose, they were already mated to each other by that time but for some reason Uncle Peter always thought Aunt Tara would reject his proposal.

It was stupid but that’s what he feared would happen.

Derek can’t help but think about all the things Ms. Morrell revealed to them about Omegas.

It was definitely not what his teachers have been telling him since freshman year but it… kind of makes sense…

All the teachers that were fired because they were spreading false information about Omegas were all Alpha categories which would explain why they didn’t feel the need to talk about Omegas and give blatantly false information regarding them.

It’s not like most teens actually know about Omegas beforehand. Omegas only take up about 10% of the population and in Beacon Hills there are only, like, 6 or 7 Omegas max and all of them are females in their late 20s to early 30s.

From what Derek could remember they were really nice and sweet to everyone, always smiling and offering help to anyone that they thought needed a hand.

They were all mated, although, not soul bound, with Alphas but there was one that Derek knew was mated to a female Beta.

So, it’s not like most of them learn about Omegas outside of what school tells them. No one really interacts with others besides the occasional wave hello unless they're part of the family or a loved one, so, the chances of people knowing an Omega enough to actually learn about the category itself is pretty slim.

Still, Derek doesn’t understand why they decide to do this now and not sooner, the way Ms. Morrell talked about it seemed like they were committing a felony or something.

When the last bell finally rings Derek is still trapped in his thoughts as more and more ideas of why Morrell would address this issue now of all times pop up. It isn’t until he smells the sweetened scent of Omega pass by him in the hallway that he finally gets his answer.

Stilinski.

Of fucking course he was behind all this! The stupid pup has a personal vendetta against him and his friends and he just presented as an Omega.

And all the teachers that got fired were the ones that gave him detentions for coming late to class. This all makes sense now.

Everything correlates so well, there is no way this is a coincidence!!

This wasn’t because the teachers did anything wrong, no, this was because Stilinski wanted to get revenge on everyone. How could Derek not have noticed sooner?!

The kid was a pure genius, Derek will give him that. He was almost fooled! Derek was actually starting to think that everything he knew about Omegas was wrong.

He can't believe this was all just an elaborate scheme Stiles came up with to make himself look good. Having the sheriff as his dad and Alpha certainly has it's advantages.

Derek needs to tell him mom about this immediately. She's one of the most powerful Alphas in the country, she'll can do something about this false pro-Omega advertising.

Just when the young Alpha was about to step into his Camaro, a joyous screech reached his ears.

Derek turned his head to look in the direction where the shout came from and saw none other than Stiles Stilinski sprinting across the parking lot and embracing a pretty girl fiercely.

“Cassy! Oh my god what are you doing here?! I missed you so much! I thought you weren’t coming back to town for another month, god I can’t believe it’s really you!” Stiles yelled as he spun the girl around in his arms, causing her to laugh.

The girl was definitely gorgeous, no older than 19 and a Beta, although, Derek can’t tell what type of supernatural she is from so far away.

From what Derek could see she had short pastel pink hair with light purple tips that were curled elegantly about 2 inches above her shoulder with deep chocolate eyes.

She was wearing a mint colored flared skirt that stopped mid-thigh accompanied by floral lace fishnet tights along with high heeled boots and a black sweater that hung loosely around her small frame with the words ‘normal people scare me’ written in white.

Derek doesn’t like her.

She beamed brightly at Stiles as she spoke, “Well, believe it sweetheart, because it’s really me! Did you really think I wasn’t going to come down here and congratulate my little cinnamon roll after he presented? Besides, I’ve missed you and the old geezer. I was actually thinking of moving back over to Beacon Hills and starting up the shop here instead of San Fran. Too much competition ya know?”

“Cas that’s awesome! You can move in and stay in my room, it’s going to be great!”

“Mm, I can just imagine the wild night we’ll have together.” She says suggestively before both of them erupt in laughter, “Too bad Mr. Alpha won’t allow us to share a bed. He’s _way_ too aware of the trouble we both cause at night when we’re in close proximity.”

Stiles chuckles, “A guy can dream right?”

Derek tries to repress a growl. He _really_ doesn’t like her.

“Well, come on, race you home.”

Then her and Stiles were sprinting to their cars. Stiles scurrying into his old baby blue jeep while she jumped inside a silver sports car and promptly drove away, not even sparing a glance behind them as they tried to beat each other to the house.

Derek can feel his wolf howling and pacing restlessly in his head, demanding to know why the fuck Stiles was with that woman.

However, Instead of listening to the enraged demands of his wolf, Derek gets in his Camaro and drives home as he tries to calm himself down.

He doesn’t want to know who that girl is. He doesn’t want to know why Stiles was with her. He doesn’t want to know why Stiles was being so friendly and affectionate towards her. And he _definitely_ doesn’t want to know what either of them meant by having a ‘wild night together’ and the ‘trouble they cause at night.’

Nope. Not one bit.

He couldn’t care less about Stilinski and this relationship with this girl Derek has never seen before.

This is him, Derek Hale, not caring about Stiles Stilinski and his freakish relationships with freakishly mysterious women. Yep. Totally doesn’t care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please leave comments, love you! ;)


	4. Chapter 4

When Derek gets home he instantly makes his way to his mom’s office.

“MOM!” He yells once the door slams closed. “You will _not_ believe what happened in school today! This random ass woman gave a speech about Omegas and how the entire school has been falsely educated and then she fucking fired like 20 teachers for ‘placing unethical theories and prejudices into the minds of high school students’ seriously, what the hell does that even mean?! And who’s to say that _she_ isn’t the one giving us false information on the Omega category, huh? She could have faked everything on the spot to make Omegas look better.”

His mom regarded him calmly and raised an unimpressed eyebrow in his direction, “And why, Derek Hale, would she do something like that?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because Stiles Stilinski, who just presented as an Omega yesterday, got his daddy to hire someone to try and make people in the school treat him like he was fucking royalty?” Derek rationalized.

His mom _had_ to have realized by now how suspicious the woman’s arrival had been.

“Interesting theory.” His mother commented, “But it couldn’t be farther from the truth.”

“And how would you know?” He scuffed.

The smirk on his mother’s face was enough to make him want to take back the words and beg for mercy.

“Because, my ignorant little pup, I was the one that contacted Marin Morrell in the first place.”

“What?!” Derek can’t believe this, this is insane, there is no way this is actually happening to him. “Why?”

“John was originally going to wait until Stiles came home from school today to find out what exactly was going on but soon thought better of it and simply looked through all the security footage of the school with me and a few others to help lighten the load. What we found was disgusting. Teachers did nothing to help him as kids beat him to a pulp, students stood and watched as he was publicly humiliated, and you _laughed_ when he worked himself into a panic attack. Then, to top it all off, we find out that not a single one of the history or biology teachers spoke about the Omega category despite it being a huge part of our society. That’s when we figured out that the teachers didn’t just let you guys bully Stiles because of who _Stiles_ was, they let you bully him because of who _you_ were.”

The hatred in his mom’s words made Derek want to present his neck out to her in submission. She was fucking terrifying when she got like this.

“Alphas. Most of the abusers, including you, were Alphas and the teachers didn’t do anything because since you were Alphas you could do whatever the fuck you wanted. That’s why I contacted Morrell, she’s an Alpha herself but she doesn’t stand for these idiotic superiority complexes that some Alphas seem to have. I’m actually shocked that so many Alpha teachers in your school shared these stupid ideals. Most Alphas don’t see themselves as superior to other categories so the fact that so many of the staff in BHHS are part of the minority that do is repulsive.”

“So you just let this woman come to my school and lie about how fucking amazing Omegas are just so the Alphas learned their lesson? What the fuck mom!?” Derek growled in frustration. He can’t believe his mom would do something like that. This has got to be a joke.

“For the love of- Derek Jason Hale how the hell is it possible to have your head so far up your damn ass!?” His mother snarled, “Do you honestly believe that Marin Morrell, a woman with one of the highest ranks in the education system would falsely advertise information on the Omega category? I knew you were in denial Derek but this is ridiculous, I refuse to believe that I raised you to be this fucking stupid. Everything Morrell said about Omegas is 100% correct and if you don’t believe me then you’re going to have to face the reality of the situation when your school implements your new class next week.”

Derek raises an eyebrow at that, “What new class?”

By the satisfied smile his mom throws at him, he knows it’s not going to be good.

“Considering all the students have been subjected to incorrect information of Omega categories there will be a new class taking place starting Monday that will focus specifically on the Omega category. Every single student must take it and the course will be seen as a core class, meaning you must pass the end of the year exam in order to graduate.”

Derek gawks. This can’t be real.

“Also,” His mother continues, “it goes without saying that I don’t want you spending time with those ‘friends’ of yours and I want you to tell me why you started tormenting Stiles in the first place. I’d like to think there was some reason behind your attitude towards him, not that it justifies what you did, but, I hope you didn’t start bullying him just because you could. Moreover, you’re going to apologize to Stiles, and you are going to keep apologizing until he forgives you.” She announces.

Derek feels like he’s going to be sick. Apologize? To _Stilinski_?! Not happening.

“I’m not talking about a meaningless ‘I’m sorry’ under your breath Derek, I mean an honest to god apology, not just with words but with actions. Meaning not only will you grovel at Stiles’ feet if you have to, you will also make sure that no one so much as _thinks_ of hurting him and if I find out that you haven’t fulfilled that requirement, and I will find out Derek don’t fucking test me, I will personally march you down to the sheriff and he can charge you for your crimes.”

The younger Alpha’s eyes widen in shock, “W-what?!”

“Why do you look so shocked? Didn’t you know that what you were doing is called harassment? Surely you must have known that tormenting someone, someone who just so happens to be the sheriff’s fucking son, for a year and a fucking half was going to land your miserable ass in jail if you got caught. You’re really lucky that Stiles specifically told his father _not_ to press charges because if he hadn’t then you’d have been thrown in prison the second John found out. So, I think a fucking apology is the _least_ you could fucking do Derek Hale. I swear if you weren’t my son I would have kicked you out of the pack the moment the sheriff told me what you did to Stiles, be grateful pup, but very fucking grateful.”

After that Derek growled in frustration and turned to leave her office. This entire situation has been nothing but a complete nightmare and he wanted nothing more than to go to hide in his bed and hope that the world would fuck off for once.

“Oh, and Derek,” his mother said, causing him to stop once he reached the door. “I hope you don’t have any plans during the weekends because you’ll be spending every day off from school at your grandparent’s house until I say otherwise.”

“What?! Mom, I can’t! Basketball season just started, we have Saturday practices every weekend!”

The older Alpha rolled her eyes at him, “I’m sure your coach won’t mind being short one player.”

“I’m the _captain_!!!” He roared feeling outraged that his mother would prevent him from practicing with his team. It’s his first year as captain, he can’t fuck this up!

“I don’t care if you’re the president of the United fucking States Derek, I’m your mother as well as your Lead Alpha and my word is final. Now go watch the pups, you’re on pup watching duty until further notice.”

“I hate pup watching duty, I’m a _tracker_ not a pup watcher!”

His mom glared, “Well, I’m sure a tracker such as yourself would know by now that the Hale Pack doesn’t have a designated pup watcher, so, you will have the honor of taking care of the pups until I say otherwise. Now go watch the pups.”

With a groan Derek finally turned and left the office. This day could not get any worse.

When he got to the game room where all three of the pups were currently playing he wanted to curl into himself and die. Brandon wasn’t going to be an issue seeing as he was 12 and wouldn’t be doing much other than finishing up his homework and playing video games, but Nora and Malia? They were going to make Derek’s life a living hell.

Nora was wearing her ‘business tutu’ which was completely black with multicolored sparkles all over it. She only wore it when ‘the people of her kingdom were in danger’ and she needed to ‘negotiate a treaty’ with the other kingdoms in order to ‘save’ her people.

Which basically meant that she threw all her stuffed animals on the floor and made Derek sit down with her for 2 hours while she babbled on about imaginary nonsense.

Derek always gets the strongest urge to shoot himself whenever he sees her wearing that stupid tutu. Today is no different.

Malia on the other hand, hates playing with other people and spends most of her time trying to run around the house in her underwear. 

It's nothing but a big headache for Derek because whenever he catches her and tries to bring her back to the game room or put her in some damn clothes she starts crying and throws a fucking tantrum like he broke her pacifier or something.

And that's another thing, Malia is fucking obsessed with her pacifier! The girl would commit murder before she would ever let anyone get her stupid pacifier out of her mouth.

Derek has tried to convince Aunt Tara and Uncle Peter to take Malia's pacifier away because she's 4 years old and still has a pacifier!! Most kids get rid of those things before they hit 2, but, whenever he brings it up they just respond with 'is her having a pacifier hurting anyone? Is it effecting her health? Are her teeth any less straight than they were yesterday? Are you her parent? No? There's your answer' and leave it at that.

So, Malia keeps her pacifier. Which also means Derek gets to keep his headaches.

Perfect.

The Alpha wants to growl and flash his eyes whenever Malia gets into one of her moods but Aunt Tara would probably kill him if he did and she scares the living shit out of Derek so he somehow always manages not to lose control when dealing with Malia’s behavior.

The Alpha swears the little werecoyote hates his guts. For what, he has no idea but a child can't be that bratty unless they're doing it to purposefully make his life miserable.

About half an hour later when Derek finally managed to completely zone out Nora’s rambling about the importance of timing or something, Brandon spoke up from his spot on the couch.

“Hey, Derek?”

“Hmm?” Derek hummed, he was going to die of boredom.

“You do know that Malia left the game room about 5 minutes ago right?” The pup stated without even so much as looking away from the flat screen TV.

Fuck his life.

 

* * *

 

When lunch finally arrives on Wednesday Scott couldn’t be more relieved. All the gossip around school revolved around either how Stiles roasted the popular gang or who Stiles' soulmate was.

Stiles walked around with his soul mark on full display, not even trying to cover it up but when anyone asked him who shared the other half the Omega would shrug and say it was no one important.

Scott hasn’t talked to Stiles in nearly 3 months but he can’t say he’s not a bit curious to know who was the Omega’s soulmate. Then again, the entire school was trying to find out who it was with little success.

No one in the school had a soulmark on their neck like that, so, everyone was speculating that it was someone from a different school.

Although, it’s weird that Derek started wearing scarves yesterday. The older Alpha has never worn scarves to school before, Scott didn’t even know he _owned_ scarves. Scarves were Isaac’s thing.

But it’s not like Derek could ever be Stiles’ soulmate. The two teens hated each other's guts.

Once Scott arrived to the cafeteria he knew something was wrong. Only Erica and Lydia were sitting in their usual table, Allison nearly only always gets there last due to her having gym before lunch, but, Jackson, Boyd, and Isaac were always the first ones at the table along with Lydia and Erica.

This can't be good.

“Hey, what happened? The others are usually here by now.” Scott said as he took his seat opposite of Erica.

He wasn’t expecting the blonde Beta to glare at him, “Stilinski happened.” She sneered, “Because of that stupid video the principal decided to contact our parents to discuss an appropriate punishment. Stilinski is such a fucking snake!”

“Calm your tits Erica. Don’t take it out on McCall, it’s not his fault." Lydia stated before turning her attention back to Scott. "Jackson and Isaac were called into the office first and from what I heard Mr. and Mrs. Whittemore were out for blood, apparently they took both of them straight home because they wanted to make sure they suffered all the consequences of what they’ve done.”

Scott wanted to curl into himself. What the hell was Stiles thinking?!

“Then they called in Boyd.” The redhead continued, “They’re still in the principal’s office last time I heard but let’s just say his mother and older brother are going to make sure he begs for mercy after what he’s done. Apparently they think not saying anything is worse than actually beating up Stilinski. What type of logic is that anyway? I swear I’m going to laugh when they call me over and see that my parents are completely on my side about this. They’d never see something as insignificant as Stilinski as a big deal.”

"What about Derek?" He asked curiously. The older Alpha was always with them, it was strange to sit in a table without him around.

He was actually a pretty nice guy once you got over his cocky personality and occasional need to brood.

"I don't know," Erica shrugged, "my guess is he's either off making out with that hot cheerleader that has been trying to hop on his dick for the past week or brooding about something again. He wasn't here yesterday either so my bet is on the latter, you know how he can get when he's all growls and snarls."

The Alpha nodded his head in understanding. Usually Derek is all charming smiles and flirtatious gestures with anything that has a vagina but when he gets into one of his moods he can be a real pain in the ass.

Scott didn’t know what to think about the new information about Stiles though. Sure, he hated seeing everyone hurt his best friend like that but it can’t be that big of a deal as everyone makes it out to be right?

Stiles was probably just being dramatic, he’s always romanticized everything, who’s to say he’s not exaggerating things to get back at them for teasing him?

“I _still_ can’t believe the freak got my soulmate in trouble.” Erica growled, “Seriously, what's his damage?! Just because he's a fucking Omega doesn't mean he gets to walk around like he own the place all of a sudden! He's still just a freak. Someone has to stop him before he can do anymore damage."

Once the words were out of her mouth the Beta froze and turned to look at Scott with a growing smirk.

Shit.

“Scott,” The female werewolf said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, “since you and Stilinski were so close how about you do us all a little favor and talk to him will you? Nothing too hard just try to get him to back off a bit before he ends up getting himself hurt.”

“I, uh, I don’t think I can do that. We haven’t really talked since me and Allison started dating this year.”

Lydia rolled her eyes, “It doesn’t matter Scott. It’s not like we’re asking you to be friends with him again. We just want you to have a little chat with him so he stops messing with us. You can do that can’t you?”

“I- I guess but-”

“Great.” Erica interrupted, “Now move along, lunch isn’t neverending.”

With that Scott stands up and moved to find Stiles. The Alpha really hoped Stiles would just listen to him this once, nothing good will happen if the Omega keeps on pestering them.

Scott eventually finds Stiles in the library with Cora. They’re both… laughing?

Since when did Cora Hale ever laugh? Hell, since when did _Stiles_ ever laugh? The last time Scott remembers Stiles laughing was during the summer when they both spent every day playing video games together.

The memory seemed so long ago but it hasn’t been more than 4 months since then. Still, something aches in his chest at the thought that Stiles hasn’t smiled since the start of school.

Suddenly, Cora turns her head to look at him. Well, more like glare at him. Scott can hear her growling threateningly under her breath.

Beta or not Cora Hale is not a force he wants to mess with, so, he tries to control his Alpha instincts telling him to flash his eyes at her and look as nonthreatening as possible.

Stiles raises an unimpressed eyebrow at him once he catches sight of Scott. The Omega stands up from where he was previously sitting on the chair next to Cora and walks up to him, the aggressive Beta following right behind him with a set glare on her face.

“Allison isn’t here and I haven’t seen her since second period.” Stiles states boredly before turning around and heading back to his chair.

Without thinking, Scott catches Stiles’ wrist and stops the Omega from leaving. The snarl that leaves Cora’s throat is terrifying and has Scott letting go of Stiles’ hand like he was burned.

“Don’t you dare fucking touch him McCall!” She sneers while flashing her eyes at him.

Good thing the librarian is never here during lunch break or else they’d be kicked out in that very moment.

Stiles places a hand on her shoulder and she instantly calms, “I’m fine Cora, how about you take a few minutes to cool off a bit while I talk to Scott. You’ve been on edge all day.”

“Yeah, okay, you're right. Imma head to the field and maybe run some laps to take the edge off, full moon is next week and my wolf's acting up. Tell me if this idiot does anything to you so I can kick him in the balls so hard he won’t be able to have children.”

Then she turns and exits the library, leaving a bored looking Stiles and a scared as fuck Scott behind.

After a moment of silence the Omega sighs, “What do you want Scott?”

“I just… I think you should stop trying to pick a fight with my pack.” Scott announced as he ran a hand anxiously through his hair.

Stiles’ face went from uninterested to murderous so fast Scott thought he got possessed by a demon or something.

“Your pack?” Stiles scuffed, “Since when did they become your _pack_?”

Scott glared, “Since they became my friends.”

The Omega laughed and looked at him in pure amusement. “Friends? You think they’re your friends? Please tell me you're not stupid enough to think any of those jerks actually care about you.”

“Don’t talk about them like that! You don’t even know them!!”

“Oh, and you do?” Stiles asked with an eyeroll in the Alpha’s direction. “Tell me something Scott. When did they become ‘your pack’ hmm? When did they stop pushing you up against lockers and laughing at you whenever you got an asthma attack? When did they finally let you be a part of their little click because the Scott McCall I know was just as much a victim of their bullying as I was!”

“Fine! It all started when I presented as an Alpha okay? It started when I presented as an Alpha and found out that Allison was my soulmate. Yeah, I know how it sounds, like they’re just hanging out with me because of my rank but do you remember how it was before I presented? Do you remember how _we_ were? You and me?”

Stiles was still glaring at him but Scott didn’t let it stop him from continuing.

“We were the losers! We were the rejects! We were the guys that always hung out together because no one else wanted to befriend them. We weren’t popular, we weren’t good at lacrosse, we were nothing, we weren’t important, we were _no one_ Stiles!"

Scott knew he was starting to get too emotional but he couldn’t help it. Being a part of their group was the best thing to ever happen to him and Stiles wasn't getting it!

“Maybe I didn't want to be the loser, maybe I didn't want to be the asthmatic kid, maybe I didn't want to be the geek with only one friend, maybe I didn't want to be no one anymore!” Scott growled. He could feel his eyes burning red but he couldn’t do anything to stop it, his wolf was too close to the surface.

Stiles blinked rapidly and the Alpha could see the wetness behind those dark lashes. “Scott listen to me okay? You weren’t no one, you were someone. Scott you… you were my best friend. I _needed_ you.”

Scott felt his heart shatter when he saw a tear stream down Stiles’ face. Stiles has _never_ cried in school before. No matter how much pain he was in, no matter how much he was hurting, he never shed a single tear in front of anyone.

The fact that he was crying now filled Scott with unimaginable guilt. He did this to Stiles. Stiles was crying because of _him_.

“Scott you were… S-Scott you were my _brother_.” Stiles confessed as he choked out a sob. “I trusted you more than anyone. I… I thought you’d always be there for me. I thought… I thought you were _my_ pack. I thought you were _always_ going to be my pack. And then you... then you just throw me away like a piece of shit and join the popular group? The same people that tormented not just me but you as well? Where the fuck is the logic there Scott!? Tell me where the fuck the logic was!!"

“Stiles I- Stiles I didn't mean-” Scott whimpered as he felt his own tears start to spill.

Stiles sniffled and quickly wiped the tears from his face. “Whatever Scott. I’m done, I'm done caring about people that don't give a fuck about me. If you’re going to keep doing this then… then you’re just going to have to do it without me.”

“No Stiles wait!” Scott yells when Stiles turns to leave. “I can’t… I can’t lose you…”

The Omega looks back at him, his eyes red from crying with tears still gathering above his thick lashes. Scott has no idea how he managed to bite back the whimper threatening to escape his lips at the sight.

“You lost me the minute you chose them as your pack.”

And with that, Stiles left the library without so much as looking back as Scott slowly sank to his knees and cried.

He felt something in his chest snap and Scott knew that it was the pack bond he had with Stiles. The thought of the bond snapping made Scott only cry harder when he realized that he had officially lost his best friend.

The Alpha didn't even know he had a pack bond with Stiles, it was so faint that he didn't even notice it was there until it was gone. It was so weak compared to the others.

The pack bond he shared with his mom was strong and stable, showing them as blood pack mates. The others he had with Derek, Lydia, Jackson, Isaac, Boyd, and Erica were more fragile, not as solid as the one with his mom, indicating that they weren't officially pack but they had a strong enough bond to see each other as pack. His and Allison's bond was the strongest and the most unfaltering, even compared to his mom's, revealing their soul bond that went deeper than the ordinary pack bonds shared with pack mates.

But Stiles' pack bond... it was practically nonexistent. If it hadn't snapped Scott would have never known it was even there and that... that scared him more than anything.

Stiles was his brother, they used to do everything together. Nothing could have ever kept them apart before he presented as an Alpha. To think that such a strong friendship like the one him and Stiles shared could have been reduced to a barely there tug on his chest after only a few months was killing him.

He did that. The reason him and Stiles became so detached was because of him. This was all his fault.

What the fuck did he do?

 

* * *

 

To say Allison was surprised to only see Erica and Lydia sitting in their table was an understatement. She wasn't used to seeing the table so empty.

“Hey, where are the guys?” Allison asked curiously as she took her seat.

Lydia spoke up, “Jackson and Isaac went home early, Boyd is currently in the principal’s office, Derek has been avoiding us since yesterday to brood over his life, and Scott went off to talk to Stiles for a bit.”

“Why is Boyd in the principal’s office? Did something happen?”

“Nothing important.” Lydia answered, “Just a simple misunderstanding, it’ll all blow over in a few days.”

“Why do I feel like there’s more to the story than you’re leading on?”

Lydia gave her a kind smile, “Ally, don’t worry about this, it’s honestly not a big deal. Why don’t you go find Scott, he’s been gone for a while and me and Erica are starting to worry. You know how Scott can be sometimes, he’s literally a puppy.”

After that both girls shooed Allison off to find her soulmate.

She was glad that her vampire abilities helped her track down Scott’s scent in milliseconds. Although werewolves usually beat vampire in the enhanced senses department, a vampire’s sense of smell is about 10 times better than a werewolf’s and Allison couldn’t be happier about it.

With about 41% of the world’s population being werecreatures it was nice to have a leg up on them for being different. Vampires weren’t as common as they used to be back in the 18th and 19th century.

It’s quiet surprising the misconceptions people have of vampires due to old folklore and the myth of Dracula.

For one thing vampires don’t turn into ashes when they go out in broad daylight, they’re skin is just more sensitive to UV rays and they get sunburned easily. They also don’t turn into bats at night or control people with their minds, that would be incredibly invasive and creepy.

They could see their reflections just like any other supernatural and don’t actually sleep in coffins, although they do prefer to keep their rooms completely devoid of light when they’re sleeping. Nor can they be killed by garlic, holy symbols, water, silver, or fire.

However, they can be killed by decapitation -because who the hell isn’t?- as well as have a natural weakness against plants of the hawthorn family, especially ash, wild rose, holy, and mayflower. Another thing that’s true about vampires is that they can’t enter a house without permission.

They’re classy like that.

Moreover, vampires can live their entire lives without drinking any blood and be perfectly fine, it just tastes good and gives them the nutrients needed to keep them strong and healthy. It's like water for them.

Allison doesn’t mind drinking blood but she’d rather not pay for blood banks to give it to her. There are blood banks specifically for people who want to donate blood to vampires but she still feels bad about drinking someone’s blood when she doesn’t really need it.

She’ll good with coconut water and animal blood so why should she waste money on a mere luxury?

When Allison finally reached the library she was shocked to see Scott curled up on the floor in tears. The Beta vampire had smelled the scent of salt in the air but she didn’t think that Scott would be crying! She has never seen him cry before so she simply thought it was just someone crying in the bathroom or something.

High school always smelled like hormones and tears.

She kneeled in front of him and held his face in her hands so Scott was looking at her. “Scott, darling, what happened? Are you hurt? Do I need to shot someone with an arrow made of wolfsbane?”

“No, Ally, no-nothing like that, I’m… I’m not hurt, at least, not the way you think.” Scott confessed as he pressed his face into her neck and clung to her.

“Then tell me what happened love, I hate seeing you so upset, what can I do to make it better?” Allison cooed as she held onto her soulmate and pet his hair.

Scott pulled away from her slightly in order to look at her face as he spoke, “Do you remember Stiles?”

“The boy you used to hang out with?” She said while recalling always seeing Scott with the same guy whenever she saw him during the summer.

Scott nodded but said nothing as his scent soured with guilt and sorrow.

“I was wondering why you never mentioned him since he two seemed to be so close, did something happen to him? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine just…” Scott trialed off with a sigh, “Stiles and I, we’ve known each other since we were in diapers. We were so close we were practically brothers. Growing up Stiles was always teased and bullied but it wasn’t anything major, just kids being jerks because he had ADHD and talked too much. I tried to stick up for him a few times but that usually ended in me becoming the new target of their teasing until I worked myself into an asthma attack.”

Allison gasped. “You're kidding! And no one did anything to stop this? I swear I will never understand why people just stand by the sidelines and watch as these monstrosities happen, it’s atrocious! I saw it in France sometimes but never to the extreme that seems to be common in America. Do you know how many movies and documentaries there are about bullying here?!”

The Alpha tried to swallow down the guilt as he told Allison everything.

He told her about how last year the bullying reached new levels when Jackson claimed Stiles was trying to invent some type of concoction to break the soul bond between soulmates and how everyone started picking on Stiles, not just a few people, and he even told her about some of the rumors that Lydia and Erica spread around with the help of Isaac and occasionally Derek.

Scott then told her about what Stiles did yesterday and how the principal has already called Jackson, Isaac, and Boyd’s parents. He stops talking once he explained that the reason he was talking to Stiles in the first place was to get him to back off a bit and told Allison what Stiles had said to him.

The vampire was silent throughout the entire confession and showed no emotion on her face that gave away what she was thinking.

Scott’s heart jumped to his throat when her face turned dark and she shouted in his face.

“Scott Alexander McCall are you fucking telling me that the people that I’ve been hanging out with, the people that I’ve considered my _friends_ have been tormenting Stiles for almost 2 years now and I was kept in the dark about it?!”

Scott gulped, “Lydia said to keep it from you because it might upset you so we didn’t talk about it or do anything when you were near.”

“Damn fucking right I’m fucking upset about it! Scott, these people, they have been abusing your best friend and you did nothing about it?! What the hell Scott!? And not only did you not say anything about it you became their friend once you found out I was your soulmate?”

“Lydia was your best friend! I didn’t want to keep you away from her!! Besides, I wanted to be with you no matter what! I wasn’t going to let the people you hung out with stop me from being with my soulmate.”

The vampire turned murderous. “And you didn’t think I would have wanted to know that my so called 'friends' were nothing but giant assholes that think it’s funny to bully someone weaker than them?! How the fuck were you think- You know what, I have a better question that I demand an answer to, why the hell are you crying? After what you just explained to me you have no right to be crying about this!”

“Because the bond _snapped_ Allison! The pack bond between me and Stiles fucking snapped and I lost the closest thing I had to a brother!!” Scott yelled. He didn’t like shouting at Allison but he couldn’t stop himself, with his wolf so close to the surface and the scent of his soulmate’s anger suffocating him it was nearly impossible to keep from screaming at her.

“Well if you ask me it’s a miracle that you even had a pack bond with Stiles in the first place after all the shit you put him through. I may not be a werewolf but I know that you don’t form pack bonds until _after_ you present, which means that even when you brushed Stiles off to the side and became friends with those… those _people_ … Stiles still saw you as pack and cared about you so much that he was able to form a pack bond with you from pure strength of will. I can’t… I can’t even begin to imagine how he must have felt, losing his best friend to the people who hurt him on a daily basis and still managing to care enough to form a pack bond. It took you telling him to stop messing with ‘your pack’ to finally break his resolve and lose all faith in you and that…”

Allison shook her head and looked back at him with such disappointment that Scott actually heard himself whimper.

She can't believe Scott would do something like this.

“God, Scott, what the hell were you thinking? And Stiles… Stiles let you off so easy, he could have easily called you out on all your shit but he… he didn’t… Scott I… I’m sorry but I can’t deal with this right now.”

“What?” Scott whispered brokenly as he watched Allison stand up. “Ally what are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about me not being able to handling all this information. I’m sorry Scott but I can’t do this until you pull yourself together. From now on don’t talk to me, don’t call me, don’t text me, don’t come to my house, don’t follow me, just… just act like I don’t exist.”

“Allison?!” Scott scrambled to his feet and hurried to stop her from leaving the library, “Allison what do you mean act like you don’t exist? You’re my soulmate, I love you!”

“And I never said I going to stop being your soulmate. I said that you needed to get your shit together. Look, I love you Scott, I really do. You’re my everything, but, I can’t just ignore the fact that you would do something like this. My soulmate wouldn’t do that, the man I fell in love with would never let something like that happen to his best friend.”

Allison looked at him with a stern glare and Scott wanting to shrink into himself.  

“You are not the same Scott McCall that I fell head over heels for. My Scott talked about video games and comic books and he took me on cheesy dates when we should have been in school and he he was always a complete gentlemen in all aspects. My Scott was a dork with an adorable crooked jaw and a cute lopsided smile that always made my heart skip a beat. My Scott had a heart of gold and didn’t care what anyone else thought of him because he knew he was doing the right thing… I love you Scott McCall, and I always will, but I want _my_ Scott back, the one that would stand up for his brother even when he knew it could trigger an asthma attack. When that Scott comes back, tell him I’ve been waiting for him.”

Then she turned on her heels and marched out. She can’t believe she didn't notice that this was going on sooner! The vampire was so blind after finally being accepted into a group that she didn't see what was right in front of her.

She was so stupid!

And to think she was comforting Scott when she should have been comforting Stiles, the poor pup must be heartbroken after all the things Scott said.

Jesus, Allison can’t even begin to understand what it must feel like to have someone so close to you blatantly say that they have a pack which not only doesn’t include you, but is composed of all the people who have tormented you since forever.

She’s can’t believe she actually thought those people were her friends. They were monsters, all of them. Allison wants nothing to do with them anymore. It makes her feel sick just thinking about it.

The Beta vampire is making her way towards the cafeteria again when she suddenly hears a growl and stops in her tracks. It’s coming from one of the corridors not too far from her so she can make out most of the muffled noises.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to chop his dick off? Because I will gladly do it Stiles, not a moment of hesitation, I will get a pair of scissors and chop off his dick the moment you give the order.”

Someone sighs, “Cora it’s really nothing, I’m fine. No dick chopping necessary. I appreciate the sentiment though.”

“It obviously wasn’t nothing Stiles, you can’t lie to me. You were crying and that gives me more than enough reason to chop off his dick.”

The guy -Stiles- chuckled, “Have fun explaining that in court.”

Allison knew she should probably leave before they noticed her and found her eavesdropping but she couldn’t help her need to talk to the Omega. It was like an itch that wouldn’t go away.

She quickly, but quietly, made her way towards the sound of their voices. When the vampire was finally able to see them she made herself known.

“Hey Stiles, um, can I talk to you for a moment?” Allison asked cautiously, she’s never spoken to Stiles before but from everything Scott just told her the Omega has a shit load of sarcasm and sass at his disposal and he definitely isn't afraid to use it.

“Allison?” Cora inquired, “What are you doing here?”

The Beta werewolf was wary around her but wasn’t growling like she was with Scott. The vampire has been part of her brother’s group of asshole friends since she moved to Beacon Hills this summer but she’s been nothing but incredibly sweet and nice to everyone since she arrived.

Allison gave her a small smile, “Hey Cora. Mind if I talk to Stiles for a sec?”

The werewolf looked over at Stiles for confirmation and left when the Omega nodded his head while rolling his eyes.

It was kind of cute actually. Allison knows Cora has never had an actual friend before, so, seeing her so protective of Stiles and making sure he was okay with everything was quite the sight to see.

Once she was out of hearing range Stiles looked back at the vampire with an eyebrow raised, waiting for her to start talking.

The Omega nearly fell on the floor when Allison was suddenly hugging him like he was going to disappear forever.

“I’m so sorry Stiles.” She said from where her head was pressed against his neck. “I had no idea that those people were doing that to you, if I had known then I would have never became friends with them. Lydia, Erica, Boyd, Jackson, Isaac, Derek… I can’t believe they did that to you! And Scott! God I don’t even know where to begin with him. What he did to you… I can’t- I can’t even imagine how you must have felt. I’m so terribly sorry Stiles, I didn’t know!”

By then she was crying and Stiles was beginning to panic. He was never the best dealing with tears.

“Allison, hey, it’s okay. You don’t need to apologize. You didn’t do anything.”

“EXACTLY!” She cried out while pushing away from the Omega slightly to look at his face. “I didn’t do anything. I was hanging out with those tyrants thinking they were good people only to find out that they’re nothing but a bunch of abusive morons that have been making your life a living hell!”

The vampire took a deep breath to calm herself down, “I know this is the first time I’ve actually spoken to you but from what I’ve seen in the classes we have together and from the few times I saw you during the summer I can tell you don’t deserve this. You never bother anyone during class, you keep to yourself and try to blend into the background as much as possible yet from what I remember during the summer you were always smiling and goofing around. I want to be your friend Stiles, you seem amazing, and from what Scott has told me you’re a blast to have around. I’d much rather hang out with you than those wannabe Alphas, that is, if you’d let me of course.”

Allison couldn’t help but chuckle at Stiles’ shocked face. He looked like a fish out of water and he was looking around as if searching for someone to jump out with a camera and laugh.

“I mean it, Stiles. I want to get to know the guy that always looked like he was having the time of his life during the summer even if he was just sitting in a park bench with his friend. I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself sooner.”

The Omega shook his head in disbelief, “Don’t worry about it. I know you were a bit distracted with Scott being your soulmate and all.”

“Yeah I guess you can say that.” She said beaming up at him.

“Mm I’m sure his fingers were very distracting. Those things are pretty skilled.”

Allison gasps and promptly hits him upside the head. “Don’t say things like that. We’re in _school_!!”

Stiles takes one look at her burning face and smirks, “I was talking about video games. The way he moves those things over the console is a work of art.”

“You… you just… _oh my god_ you’re such a little shit!” She exclaimed with a smile on her beautiful features. “But for the record, I can totally destroy everyone in mario kart.”

“Please, I’m the king of mario kart. Don’t even try me princess.”

“Is that a challenge?” Allison says with a smirk.

Stiles raises an eyebrow at her, “You say that as if you think you can beat me.”

“Please,” the vampire snorts, “I _know_ I can beat you.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that when I destroy you. Come on, let's go find Cora. I think she’s in the field again.”

Allison bites her lip, “You, um, you think she’ll be okay with me tagging along? She’s pretty possessive of you.”

“I don’t think she’ll have a problem with it. Cora didn’t seem aggressive towards you, and that's saying something considering she growled at the floor when I tripped over nothing and almost fell on my face. I think you’ll be fine. Plus, if she has an issue with it then she’ll need to get over it eventually, she’s not going to have me all to herself forever. The pup needs to learn to share.”

Allison snickered, “Isn’t she older than you?”

“Physically? Yes. Mentally? No. She’s just a possessive puppy.”

“Good to know.”

“She’s actually really nice. Well, once you get over her need to growl at everything. Cora's not the easiest person to get to know at first but once you see the incredible person she truly is, it's worth it.” Stiles announced with a fond smile tugging on his lips.

Allison can see the way he cares about her the same way Cora obviously cares for him. No one would think that the two just became friends yesterday with the way they acted around each other.

To the vampire’s surprise Cora was actually really happy when Allison told her she wanted to be friends with them. She can see why Stiles referred to her as a puppy, Cora is _incredibly_ excitable.

As the three teens continued to talk and mess around Allison couldn’t help but compare it to how Lydia and the other’s were with each other.

When Allison was with them everyone had their own space, their own personal bubble that was almost never messed with aside from a few pats on the back or the occasional hug good bye when they left each other’s house.

This was different.

Stiles was constantly touching both her and Cora throughout their conversations and he didn’t even seem to notice it. Cora eagerly returned all the light touches and Allison did so as well but to a lesser extent.

It felt nice, being a vampire she doesn’t need much physical contact but she still relished the soft touches that Stiles and Cora were giving her. It felt real, like how being part of a pack should be.

The Beta vampire was never going to give this up. Not for anything in the entire world. This was her pack now, and she was going to make sure everyone knew it.

 

* * *

 

Stiles couldn’t believe how in the short span of a few days his life could change so drastically. People didn’t shove him against lockers every 5 seconds anymore, and the few jerks that still did were instantly caught by the new teachers that were hired.

They were all great teachers and didn’t let anyone that bullied or harassed another student, physically or verbally, go unpunished.

Lydia’s gang of idiots haven’t bothered him since Tuesday. Stiles laughed for a good 5 minutes when he heard that the Whittemores decided to enroll Jackson and Isaac in a behavioral training school that lasted from 6pm to 9pm Monday through Friday and 8am to 5pm on Saturdays. It wasn’t like Stiles thought the ‘training’ would actually work and suddenly make the two teens nice law abiding citizens but it was funny as hell to think about.

Considering the Whittemores are the most well known lawyers in the state of California, Stiles has a sneaking suspicion that they knew all too well that the behavioral school wouldn’t work and were just doing it to humiliate their sons.

Seeing as behavioral training is the most downgrading and disgraceful thing that could happen to a werewolf, the two lawyers are doing a good job of embarrassing them so far.

Stiles has no idea what Boyd’s family did to him but the guy walks around smelling of shame and guilt all the time. He even apologized to Stiles, like, literally groveled and felt bad for what he did. Stiles actually believed him, the guy looked like he was confessing to murder or something. There were actual tears streaming down his face!

Speaking of apologies, apparently Derek’s mom is making him apologize to Stiles everyday until he forgives him. Stiles doesn’t really acknowledge him when he does it, he can tell it’s just him doing what his mom asked, not him apologizing because he feels bad about what he did.

So, Stiles just waits for him to finish and walks away in disinterest when the Alpha asks if he’s forgiven. The Omega isn’t going to let the Alpha go that easy.

Erica’s parents took away all her electronics, makeup, clothes, nail polish, high heels, and credit cards.

That left her with only sweatpants and baggy t-shirts along with some sneakers that she would always wear before she presented.

It was weird to see her walking around like she did before presenting as a Beta and at first Stiles didn’t think it would make a difference, but it totally did.

It was like being transported back to freshman year when she was shy and insecure about herself, she obviously tried to appear unfazed by it but the way she ducked her head whenever someone addressed her and how she kept biting her nails gave her away.

Her mask had been ripped off and it was all too clear that the insecurities she had are still hiding under the surface of red lipstick and a truckload of mascara.

It also helped that she didn’t have her support system by her side anymore. Jackson, Isaac, Boyd, Derek, and Erica’s schedules were changed so they didn’t share any classes together anymore and they all had CSI during lunch doing different things in various places of the building so they didn’t interact with each other.

What really took everyone for a loop, however, was how infuriated Lydia’s parents were when they found out what she did. They were so pissed off they sent her to live with her incredibly strict grandmother in Idaho who is, interestingly enough, an Omega banshee.

Jackson was absolutely devastated and walks around looking like he’s 5 seconds away from breaking into tears whenever someone sees him in the hallway. Since they solidified the soul bond being torn apart so suddenly is obviously having an affect on them.

It’s not fatal and won’t make them physically ill in any way but it will definitely take a toll on their emotions. Stiles wants to feel bad for him but can’t seem to bring himself to care.

The fucker deserved it. They all did.

Stiles doesn’t need to feel sorry for them. They brought this on themselves.

Without the gang of tyrants attending lunch anymore Stiles finally started to eat lunch in the cafeteria again without fear of someone making him have a panic attack.

Cora and Allison have been sitting with him during lunch and it was honestly the best thing ever. Not long after all three of them sat down to eat lunch in one of the tables on Thursday Paige walked up to them and asked if she could join them for lunch.

At first Stiles was worried about how Paige’s friends would feel until the older werewolf told him that she’s spent every lunch period eating alone in the music room to practice her music. After that Stiles shut up and just enjoyed having all his friends talking and laughing together.

Scott tried to talk to him several times to say how sorry he was but Stiles wasn’t having it. What Scott did hurt more than anything Jackson and the others could have ever done. The Omega wasn’t going to just forgive him because Scott gave him those stupid puppy dog eyes, Scott betrayed him and there was nothing the Alpha could do to make Stiles trust him again.

At least, not like he used to.

All in all, school was taking a surprising turn for the better and Stiles was loving every minute of it. He’s also looking forward to the new class that will be taking place on Monday, it will take the place of one of his electives but Stiles didn’t care, he was excited to learn more about his category.

When Stiles came home on Friday he wasn’t expecting his dad to be dressed in nice jeans and a button up.

“What’s the occasion? I thought this was going to be another lazy Friday night doing nothing.” Stiles said as he closed the front door and dropped his book bag on the couch.

“Yeah, I thought that too until I got a call from Talia inviting us to dinner with her pack.”

Stiles froze. “Her pack? As in the Hale Pack? As in _Derek_ Hale’s Pack?!”

“No, Stiles.” The Alpha sighed, “I mean the Hale Pack as in _Talia_ Hale’s Pack. Derek is just another member, don’t pay him any mind.”

“Right, yeah, that’s easy, just don’t pay the guy who has been making my life a living hell any mind as I sit and have dinner with his pack. Oh, and he’s also my soulmate! Yep, totally doable, why didn’t I think of that? It’s going to be an absolute joy!”

“Stiles-”

“Let me handle it old timer.” Cassidy said as she made her way to stand by Stiles’ side. “I’ve got this.”

Cassidy dragged Stiles upstairs to his room and closed the door to give the illusion of privacy. Then she sat down on the bed and laid his head on her lap so she could comb her fingers through his hair.

“Alright, spill, who’s this Derek guy and why have I not stabbed his eyes out yet?”

Stiles chuckled and relaxed as she kept petting his hair. “I’ve told you about him before but I never said his name. Remember the guy that convinced the entire basketball team to beat me up?”

“You mean the time you were in the hospital for a week and refused to tell me and your dad who were the idiots responsible? That guy is your fucking soulmate?!”

“Apparently.” Stiles sighed.

“Okay, describe him. What does he look like?” She asked while continuing to play with his hair. It was incredibly soothing and Stiles could feel a content rumble leaving his chest at the soft touch.

“Well, Derek has black hair with tannish skin and the angriest eyebrows ever. Like, honestly those eyebrows could kill someone at any minute. He has a strong build, practically a giant wall of muscle. Maybe, like, half a head taller than me and his jawline could probably cut through stone. His eyes are like nothing I’ve ever seen before, a mix of greens and blues with little golden specks sprinkled on top. I swear they’re mystical as fuck.”

Much to Stiles’ confusion, Cassidy smirked, “I think I know who you’re talking about. Drives a Camaro and wears a leather jacket?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“He was giving me the murder brows when he witnessed our little exchange on Tuesday. Totally jealous.”

Stiles gawked, “Seriously?! But he hates me! There’s no way he was jealous.”

“Well pup think what you want but that Alpha was jealous and we’re going to use that to our full advantage.” She said with a devious smile on her face.

“How?”

“He thinks we’re together or at least that we’ve got an interest in each other. No matter how much he hates you his wolf will see me as a challenge and we’re about to enter his home territory. I say we keep making him think that we’re a thing until he makes a fool of himself in front of everyone, it’ll be fun. Let’s show him some Kava family sass!!”

Stiles snorted, “How many times do I need to remind you that my last name is Stilinski not Kava.”

“I don’t care about what your birth certificate says you’re a Kava at heart and you got that sass from _me_ dammit!” She declared dramatically.

Stiles couldn’t help but chuckle at her antics. “I thought my mom was the sass master?”

“Nope, Clau was all about that sarcasm. I’m the sassy one. Consider yourself lucky kid you got the best of both worlds!!”

Stiles huffed in amusement and let Cassidy run her fingers through his hair. He doesn’t know what he’d do without Cas by his side. She was the only thing keeping him from falling apart when his mom died.

When they arrived at the Hale House Stiles was relieved to hear that Derek was still in basketball practice and wouldn’t be back for at least another hour.

Stiles handed Talia the batch of fudge brownies he was able to make before coming here and she hid it somewhere in the kitchen before the kids could see it.

“Stiles, you really didn’t have to bring anything.”

The Omega shrugged, “It felt rude not to and it isn’t a big deal, I like baking.”

The Alpha smiled kindly at him and he remembered how she was always so nice to him back when Mr. Hale was his psychologist after his mom died. It was nice to know she hadn’t changed and was still as sweet as ever.

He can’t begin to understand how Derek could have such awesome parents and still grow up to be such an enormous dickwad.

“Stiles you’re here!” Cora shouted as she hugged him tightly. “Come on, let’s go to the game room!”

Stiles chuckled and let her drag him up to the game room without complaint, leaving Cassidy and his dad behind to watch him go up the stairs with fond smiles on their faces.

When Cora opened the door to the game room Stiles is pretty sure he got a concussion when he was jumped by a sprinting blur of sparkles.

“Hi, I’m Nora! Mama said we needed to welcome you and be on our bestest behavior. So, WELCOME TO THE HALE HOUSE!!”

The young werewolf flinched at the little girl’s screech. That was loud enough as it is and now with his enhanced hearing it was like she broke the fucking sound barrier. His ears are ringing.

“Nora, I don’t think mom meant pounce on him the second he arrived and yell in his face when she said to welcome him.” Cora stated as she got the young girl off of the Omega.

“Oops. Sorry Cora.”Nora said with a pout on her lips.

Cora shook her head, “Don’t apologize to me, I’m not the one who almost lost their hearing.”

Then the little girl turned to look up at Stiles with her big brown eyes and the Omega wanted to coo at how cute she was.

“I’m sorry I shouted in your ear, I was just excited. We don’t have people from outside of the pack come here very often. Hey, you want to help me rid my kingdom of dwarfs? They’re trying to hunt down the dragons and scaring the unicorns away!”

“Nora I don’t think Stiles wants to-”

“I’d be honored to!” Stiles interrupted. “The dwarfs have no right to harm the dragons and unicorns! What do you suggest we do first, your highness?”

The little girl squealed and rushed him over to the side of the large play room where numerous stuffed animals were scattered around the clean hardwood floors.

“First we need to block their entry to the kingdom and cut off their supplies. Then we have to ensure that the dragons are okay, they live in the mountains and it’s a 2 week journey to get there on foot, but don’t worry, I have a bunch of pegasi friends on my side and the trip will only take an hour with their help.”

They spent another few minutes discussing their plan to get rid of the horrible dwarfs before rushing into action. Cora had left to do the daily patrols so she wouldn’t be back for a while, allowing Stiles to give Nora his full attention.

The fight against the dwarfs was a long and brutal one, many lives were lost on both sides.

“NO!” Nora screeched as one of the dwarf action figures slammed into a purple pig with wings. “Katelyn!! You must get up! We can’t lose you!”

Stiles gathers her in his arms and pulls her away from the fallen stuffed animal. “We can’t mourn her life now princess! We must defeat the dwarfs before anymore of our people are killed in the hands of these heathens.”

“You’re right.” She said before turning to him with a determined expression as she places a hand on his shoulder. “Sir Stiles, you are the bravest knight I have ever known. No matter what happens to us today, I want you to know that you will always have a place in my kingdom. Now let's get these tiny monsters out of here!!”

Stiles smiled but was interrupted by a feminine voice before he could reply.

“What?! I thought _I_ was your bravest knight Nora!”

The Omega turned to see a woman with green eyes and long black hair staring at them in shock. She was an Alpha werewolf and definitely a Hale. She was practically the female version of Derek minus the murderous eyebrows.

“Nope. Stiles is the bravest! And the awesomest!! Can we keep him?! I want to keep him, we’re keeping him right?!” Nora asked excitedly at the older girl.

The Alpha snorted, “I don’t think Stiles’ Alpha would like that. I’m pretty sure he was planning on taking his son back home tonight.”

“Awwww does he _have_ to? How am I going to protect my kingdom without my lead knight at my side?!”

“Derek is on pup watching duty until the day he dies so why not just ask him to do it?” The older werewolf suggested with a shrug.

Nora huffed in annoyance. “Derek is boring and never pays attention when I give him orders. Plus he’s a meanie head! He said I should stop playing little kid games and grow up.”

“What? that’s ridiculous!” Stiles announces before scooping her up and swinging her around until she giggled uncontrollably. “Taking care of an entire kingdom is hard work and is in no way a ‘little kid’ game. I for one am almost 16 and being a knight has me completely wiped out. I can’t imagine how you must feel my princess, with only 8 years of age you must be very tired after battling all those dwarfs.”

Nora giggled as she settled back on the floor and grabbed Stiles’ hand. “I guess I can go for some water right about now.”

“Then water it shall be your highness.” Stiles said with a bow causing the little girl to chuckle before leading them to the kitchen for some water.

The Alpha followed them downstairs.

“I’m Laura,” She introduced once Nora was busy drinking water. “second oldest Hale sibling and first born Alpha. You’re Stiles right?”

“Yep, that’s me, only son of the Sheriff of Beacon Hills and only male Omega in Cali.”

Before Stiles knew what was happening Laura was squealing and pulling him into the roughest bear hug ever.

“You are so precious! Goodness you’re such a cutie pie!! Don’t you worry darling, big sister Laura is going to rip Der-Bear’s balls out and stuff them down his throat! And if he ever hurts you again just remember to aim for the throat and don’t let go until his body stops moving.”

Alright, either Hale women are fucking terrifying or Stiles is easily intimidated by females.

“Brandon how many times do I have to tell you to clean your room? Do I need to get your mom involved?”

“No!! Don’t tell mom! I’ll clean my room dad I promise, no need to tell mom, mom doesn’t need to be told anything!”

“Just clean your room pup.”

“Sir yes sir!”

Nope. Hale women are fucking terrifying.

A few minutes later a man that looks like an older version of Derek walks down the stairs with a kid that is well into his pre-teen years with black hair and brown eyes.

Stiles never realized just how similar Derek and his dad looked. They were virtually identical.

“Hey Stiles.” The Beta said with a kind smile on his lips. “Sorry I didn’t come up to greet you sooner, I just got back from work and had to pick up Brandon from lacrosse practice. Plus it sounded like World War III was happening in the game room and I didn’t want to get attacked by nuclear missiles.”

Stiles grimaced, “Sorry about that, I didn’t realize we were being so loud.”

“No need to worry about that sweetie.” Talia commented as she stood up from the couch where she was previously talking to his dad and Cassidy. “Nora can be a bit of a handful when it comes to her imaginary world. I’m glad she finally found someone that could keep up with her.”

The Omega beamed but couldn’t respond due to the sound of the front door opening.

“Laura if you used up all the hot water again I swear I'll-” Derek freezes when his eyes land on Stiles. “What is _he_ doing here!?”

Stiles glares but says nothing as Talia steps forward and gives Derek a predatory grin.

“Oh Derek, don’t you remember? I said I was going to make sure your soulmate had dinner with us before the end of the week.”

Derek snarled and glared at Stiles like he was the reason world hunger existed.

Cassidy came out of literally nowhere and plastered herself on the Omega’s side. “Don’t glare at my little duckling. You got yourself into this mess for being an abusive a-s-s-h-o-l-e!”

“Why are you spelling? You sound like an idiot.”

“Well this ‘idiot’ doesn’t want to curse in front of a child under 10.”

Dere scuffed, “You should see Malia. She’s 4 and has heard more cuss words than a sailor and would cut a puppy if it touched her stupid pacifier.”

Just then the door opened to reveal a man in his late 20s with a toddler holding his hand.

“Speak of the devil.” Derek muttered before Laura smacked the back of his head.

The man that walked in gave Stiles what can only be seen as a flirtatious smile. “Well, hello there.”

“What the hell Peter you’re married and mated!” Laura announced with a disgusted face.

The guy -Peter- only smirked, “I’m mated not blind. Oh the things I would do to those pretty lips if I wasn’t married.”

Cassidy stepped between Stiles and Peter with a set glare on her face. “Woah there creeper wolf, don’t talk about Stiles like that unless you want me to put you in a coma.”

The Beta werewolf eyes her with interest, “A pixie in a wolf pack? Now that’s something you don’t see everyday.”

The pixie shrugged, “What can I say, Stiles won over my heart the moment I saw him and John is pretty cool for being an old geezer.”

“I’m not that old.” The Alpha grumbled.

Everyone laughed except Derek who was looking at everyone like they were on drugs. Stiles didn’t mind though, he was planning on ignoring the young Alpha the entire night.

While everyone was laughing no one noticed Malia leaving Peter’s side until Stiles felt a small tug on his jeans. He looked down to see the little girl staring up at him in amazement.

“Hey,” Stiles said as he crouched down to the toddler’s level. “you’re Malia right?”

She nodded and kept staring at him.

“I’m Stiles, nice to meet you beautiful.” The Omega announced with a dazzling smile.

Malia scrunched up her face cutely, “What does bootiful mean?”

“Beautiful means you’re very pretty.” The young werewolf explained.

“Oh.” The little girl said in understanding before beaming up at the Omega. “You’re bootiful too!”

Stiles tried to hide his blush the best he could at the toddler’s declaration. No one’s ever said something like that to him aside from his parents and Cassy. Figures it would be from a 4 year old and her creepy dad.

Derek turned and stomped up the stairs to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Huh, maybe Cassidy was right about the Alpha being jealous after all.

Dinner started once Cora came back from doing her patrols and Derek was done with his shower. A woman named Tara arrived when they were setting up the table who Stiles later realized was Malia’s mother.

Cora informed him that she was a very famous tattoo artist and Stiles felt squeamish just thinking about it. He really didn’t like needles.

Once everything was set everyone took their seats. Stiles sat in between Cassidy and Malia -the little girl refused to sit anywhere else- with Cora sitting across from him. Only Cora was sitting next to Derek with Laura taking up Derek’s other side so the Alpha was directly in his line of sight.

It was going to be hard ignoring him in such close proximity to each other but Stiles refused to acknowledge him. He can get through a dinner without addressing Derek, everything will be fine as long as the Alpha doesn’t rile him up.

So, of course, the Alpha riles him up.

They were almost done with dinner and everyone was eating the brownies Stiles made for dessert. Even Derek was eating them, and he seemed to be enjoying them too. Though, that was probably because the Alpha didn’t know that he made them.

Then everything went downhill from there.

“Stiles, thank you so much for making these brownies, they’re amazing. What did you put in them?” Talia asked as she grabbed another brownie from the batch.

Stiles could feel his cheeks heat up at the compliment. He usually doesn’t bake for anyone other than his dad and Cassidy. “They’re just regular fudge brownies. Nothing really special about them.”

“Well they’re _amazing_.” Laura groaned as she stuffed her face with the rest of her brownie.

The Omega smiled as more people started complimenting his baking skills. The atmosphere felt so light and open, like the Hales were already completely comfortable with him and his pack being with them.

It calmed him and made his wolf preen at the feeling of closeness and pack.

That’s when Derek opened his mouth and ruined it. “I don’t see why everyone is so starstruck about these brownies. Of course he’s good at baking, he’s an Omega. It’s what they’re made for.”

Everyone goes quiet and Stiles has had enough of this. This dinner was practically perfect and Stiles was getting along amazingly with everyone. Why is Derek so insistent on making Stiles feel like a piece of crap?!

“Alright, I think everyone’s just about had enough of your shit Derek.” Stiles announces while glaring at the Alpha. “We get it, you’re a fucking Alpha. Congratulations! And if you listen closely with those super incredible Alpha ears of yours, you can hear me not caring.”

Derek gives him the deadliest glare ever but Stiles just continues. He’s done dealing with this shit.

“If you want to be rude and make fun of my category then go right ahead, don’t worry about hurting my feelings because I guarantee you not one bit of my self esteem is tied up in your acceptance. So, if you're waiting for me to give a shit about your opinion, you better pack yourself some lunch. It’s going to be a while.”

“You little-”

Stiles sighed, “I know, I know, I stood up for myself. I’m such a bitch. Although, it’s not like I would expect you to understand, you wouldn’t be able to handle me even if I came with instructions. Why don’t you do everyone a favor darling, go buy yourself a personality, the whole Big Bad Alpha act is getting old. You can’t honestly be this much of a douchebag right? You’re family is amazing and I’d hate to see one bad apple spoil the bunch. Get over yourself Derek, you’re making your pack look bad.”

The Alpha scuffs, “Says the guy who went off and hired someone to be their girlfriend the second they find out they’re soulmate didn’t want them. Talk about making your pack look bad, how does your dad feel about his son being a fucking whore?”

“First of all,” Stiles states. “You must be really digging deep inside your ass to come up with all this bullshit Derek because Cassidy is not some random person I paid to act as my girlfriend and you’d know that if you stopped for a fucking second and just smelled her! Secondly, what I do with my body is none of your business considering you don’t want me and I would rather talk to a walnut for the rest of my life than be in the same vicinity as you. Also, you’ve got some nerve calling me a whore considering you go off to make out in the bleachers with a different girl almost everyday and who knows how many places that dick of yours has been. I’m surprised you don’t have STDs yet. And last and foremost, you sir are the human version of period cramps and somewhere out there there is a tree that is tirelessly producing oxygen so you can breathe and I think you owe it an apology.”

Cassidy turns to look at him with a bright smile on her features. “Did you just quote House?”

“Yep.”

“Awww look at my little duckling growing up and punching people in the face with words!! Claudia would have been so proud!”

Stiles smiled and let the Beta pixie hug him to her heart’s content. Cassy always made him feel better. “Thanks Cas.”

“What are you thanking me for? I’m the one with the best nephew ever, I should be thanking _you_.”

All the color drained from Derek’s face, leaving him looking ghostly pale. “N-nephew?!”

Cassidy turned her head to smirk at the young Alpha. “Nephew. If you would have just taken the time to take in my scent you would have noticed that me and Stiles share the same base scent which is only possible if we’re blood relatives. But I guess you were too busy glaring at him to spot it. Why do you think I called him duckling? He's been following me around since the second he learned to crawl.”

“But you don’t look much older than me!” Derek exclaimed in frustration, obviously trying to process how he could have missed their similar base scents.

“I’m a pixie darling. I have the ability to look as young or old as I want as long as I’ve reached that age, which means I can look like a toddler if I so much as wished to, which I certainly don’t, but I can’t look like a 40 year old because I haven’t reached my 40th birthday yet. I’m actually 24 even though I choose to look like my 21 year old self. It was a fun time of drinking and sexual experimentation so I like reminiscing my 21st year of life.” Cassidy explained.

The Alpha looked like he was about to say something else but Cora and Laura both grabbed the back of his head and slammed him into a bowl of mashed potatoes before he could get a word out.

It made Stiles feel incredibly smug, especially when Talia just grabbed another brownie and said “Derek go upstairs and wash your face. You look like the abominable snowman.”

Derek grumbled under his breath but stood up to wash the food off his face. Everyone laughed when he was out of sight even though they knew he could hear them. Stiles didn’t expect for the Hale Pack to be this awesome, they were incredible.

Stiles felt a tug on his shirt and looked down to see Malia smiling up at him. “You talked back to Derek. I think you’re my soulmate!”

The Omega shook his head fondly at the little girl but didn’t stop her from sitting on his lap and eating his brownie.

He could always make more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading, love you!! Next chapter is the big reveal of Stiles' Special Ability so if any of you guys wanna take a guess at it, drop a comment of what you think it will be. See you next chapter and happy 2017 everyone! :)
> 
> P.S. The scene between Scott and Stiles was my own twisted version of the motel scene in Teen Wolf S3E6


	5. Chapter 5

It was Sunday morning and Derek was currently glaring at the wall of his grandparent's guest room. He can’t believe his mom decided to make him stay over at their house every weekend after knowing damn well that he has practice every Saturday with the team.

The Alpha spent most of his time yesterday finishing off his homework and avoiding his grandparents at all costs. He didn’t want to deal with anyone else in his family yelling at him or talking about how he should feel lucky he wasn't kicked out of the pack.

Derek was planning on continuing his avoidance of his grandparents until he was finally allowed to go back home in the late evening. Of course, that’s not what the fates had in mind.

A soft knock echoed through the room, the sound of the door opening reaching Derek’s ears when he didn’t answer.

His grandfather had a soft smile on his lips as he spoke. “Nana is making breakfast, you hardly ate anything yesterday, you should eat before you get those Alpha pheromones all out of whack.”

Derek knew he was trying to lighten the mood. His grandfather always made jokes about being how high maintenance Alphas are. Apparently, Nana was a tough Alpha to please in her early years and he always brings it up light heartedly.

However, Derek really wasn’t in the mood for jokes right now.

The elder Beta sighed when Derek failed to respond to his playful humor and promptly shut the door behind him before sitting down next to the young Alpha’s resting form.

“Alright, me and Nana left you alone yesterday to give you some time to cool off but you can’t expect us to ignore you any longer when it’s obvious there’s something troubling you. What’s wrong Derek?”

Derek glared at the Beta. Isn’t it fucking obvious?

“Oh, gee, I don’t know maybe because I went from being the golden child to the disgraceful outcast in the family? Maybe because everyone is suddenly taking Stilinski’s side instead of mine? Maybe because everyone in the pack fucking hates me now? Or, maybe, it’s because mom is going to kick to me out of the pack the second I screw up again without a care in the world and leave me out in the fucking rain to die!”

“You’re an idiot if you actually believe any of that. Your mom isn’t going to kick you out of the pack Derek.”

The teen slammed his eyes shut the moment they started to sting. He hated crying, it was stupid and pointless. “She could if she wanted to! Mom said she’d kick me out if I wasn’t her son and even Laura said she'd kick me out if she was Lead Alpha. They didn’t even _try_ to listen to me.”

Derek felt his grandfather pat his shoulder, “Well, how about you come have breakfast with me and Nana downstairs and we’ll listen to you. Don’t think we’re excusing your behavior about this, what you did was awful and we don’t want to hear so much as a whisper that you did anything similar to this again, but, we’re pack and we help each other even when we mess up. I expect to see you downstairs in 5 minutes, am I clear?”

“Yes, Papa.”

“Good.” The older man said with a small smile before exiting the room.

When Derek made it downstairs Nana and Papa were already sitting in the dining room eating their breakfast.

They were the only soulmates in the Hale Pack -well, aside from himself- and it was obvious that they were meant to be, even during something as insignificant as breakfast.

The way they both share loving glances at each other when they think no one is looking, the way Nana doesn’t bat an eyelash whenever Papa steals some of her food even though she’ll bite someone’s head off if they so much as look at it, and the way they both touch their soul marks with a tiny smile as if reminiscing the best moment of their lives.

They were the ideal adorable old couple that everyone wants to be when they reach their age.

“Derek, darling, are you going to keep staring at us or are you going to sit down and eat?” Nana asked with an amused smile dancing on her lips.

The teen hardly spoke as he ate his breakfast, letting his grandparent’s conversation distract him from the chaotic spider web that was his brain. His mind was all over the place.

His grandmother’s words brought him out of his haze of thoughts. “Derek, care to tell us, in your own words, why your parents are upset with you?”

“Because I hurt someone who didn’t present yet and he just so happened to be my soulmate.” Derek grumbled.

“I guess that’s one way to put it, but not quite.” Nana commented. “You didn’t just ‘hurt’ him, Derek, you abused him. You terrorized him to the point where he came to school hours before classes started to keep from being targeted, he didn’t step foot in the cafeteria out of fear of being publicly humiliated, he made sure never to speak up during classes to avoid being laughed at no matter whether his answer was correct or not, and he made sure to cover as much of his body as possible to hide the bruises. Although we know you are not the only one responsible it doesn’t change the fact that you played a major role in harassing him.”

His grandfather looked into his eyes and his calculating gaze made Derek want to shrink into himself. “Derek. If you want there to be any hope in gaining Stiles’ forgiveness you need to understand that what you did was wrong.”

“What if I don’t want his forgiveness? What if I don’t want anything to do with him? Just because he’s my fucking soulmate doesn’t mean I suddenly have feelings for him. He’s still the same freak he’s always been and nothing you can say will change that!”

“Derek.” Nana sighed. “Being soulmates doesn’t change the way you feel about a person but this isn’t like you sweetie, we know who you really are and this isn’t it. You’re kind, and caring, and passionate, and smart, and a hopeless romantic that would rather watch movies and cuddle than go to a club and have a quick fuck under the table.”

The teen choked on air at his grandmother’s declaration but it didn’t stop the previous Lead Alpha of the Hale Pack from continuing.

“You’re still the same sweet pup we’ve always known but don’t think we haven’t noticed your change in demeanor whenever those friends of yours are around. You become egotistical, short tempered, self centered, and just plain out rude in some cases rather than the incredibly sweet little puppy we know you truly are. And, yes, we know you’ve always been a cocky little shit, but you become the typical jock stereotype when you’re around those people and that’s just not who you are Derek. Your friends have been nothing but a bad influence on you since day one.”

Derek growls, “You don’t know that. You don’t even know them! During my freshman year I was no one, everyone saw me as Laura’s little brother and teachers would just refer to me as Michael's younger sibling!”

“That’s natural, pup.” Papa said. “Laura was a senior when you were a freshie and she just so happened to be student body president, prom queen, and the girl’s volleyball team’s MVP 3 years in a row. Michael, on the other hand, was already a college sophomore at Berkeley and the teachers remembered him because he was the definition of the perfect student. You were just starting off your high school career with two older siblings that were extremely well known, it’s obvious that it would take a bit of time before you created a reputation for yourself.”

“Still! I was a loser until Jackson let me hang out with all of them. Sure, I thought the way they treated Stilinski was wrong at first but the guy was trying to break the soul bond that Lydia and Jackson shared, how were they supposed to react!? They were just making sure he knew his place!”

Papa gave him a look that said ‘I love you but you’re really starting to make me regret my life decisions’ while Nana’s face was more of a ‘why did I ever have kids’ kind of expression.

Nana spoke first. “Alright, it’s obvious you don’t think you did anything wrong, or at least, that’s what you’re trying to tell yourself, so, why don’t you tell me and Papa about when you first met Stiles. And be honest Derek, we’ll know if you’re lying.”

It takes a few minutes before the teen finally speaks up but his grandparents wait patiently for him to start.

“I met him during Chemistry last year. He was switched into my class and everyone was talking about how he was the ‘super smart freshman’ and Harris told him to sit next to me. Someone tripped him and I… I helped him pick his stuff up. After that he thanked me and we talked for a bit until class started.”

“So, you didn’t think we was a freak throughout this little dialogue you two shared?” Nana asked with that smug smile she always gets when she knows she’s right.

“No. I mean yes! I mean… fuck!” Derek growls.

His grandmother sighs before giving him a soft smile. “Sweetie, don’t you think this entire story behind why you and your friends started harassing Stiles is a bit hard to believe?”

The teen opens his mouth to retort but the elder Alpha continued before he could get a word out.

“Just listen for a moment Derek.” Nana requested.

“I think this whole reason justifying Stiles’ torment is nothing but a lie. Think about it, Jackson Whittemore, a Beta kanima soul bound to Lydia Martin, a Alpha banshee, claims that Stiles Stilinski, a werewolf that was yet to present at the time, is finding a way to break a soul bond between soulmates to steal Lydia from him. Now, I’m not even going to touch upon the fact that a soul bond is unbreakable once the two occupants solidity their status as soulmates. Let’s just focus on the fact that Jackson has been dealing with what I can only imagine is a boat load of anxiety since the beginning of last year, which is when he started abusing Stiles, after experiencing conflicts with Lydia. The way I see it, Jackson is just scared of losing his soulmate and needs to feel some semblance of control in his life again, hence his extreme hostility towards Stiles.”

Derek rolls his eyes, “Why would Jackson be afraid of losing Lydia? They’re soulmates.”

“Lydia is having sexual relations with an Alpha werewolf named Aiden is she not?”

“How did you even know about that?!” The young Alpha exclaims. How the hell did his _grandparents_ of all people know who Lydia was fucking?

His grandfather grinned. “Your mother isn’t the only one that knows everything. We passed it down to her, it’s an old Hale family trait that only a select few are blessed with.”

“Answer the question, dear. Is Lydia having sex with Aiden? Yes or no.”

Derek sighs before mumbling, “Yeah, she is. But it’s nothing serious, they just hook up whenever her and Jackson get into a fight. Which is pretty often now that I think about it but whatever, they’re soulmates, everything is going to end up working itself out.”

Nana smirks, “What about you and Stiles? You’re soulmates, is everything going to end up working itself out?”

“That’s different.”

“No, honey, it’s not. I’m not going to lie, you screwed up big time but if you truly want to pursue a relationship with Stiles, it can happen. Anything is possible if you put enough effort.”

“Well this time it won't, okay! I know everyone thinks finding their soulmate is the best thing ever, but it’s not! At least, not for me. You can’t just sit here and tell me it’s all going to be okay and that me and Stiles will somehow work out because neither of you have any idea what it’s like to find out someone you despise is your soulmate!”

His grandmother smirked and Papa full out _laughs_. Derek stares at them like they’re insane.

“Oh, Derek.” Papa says once he stops laughing hysterically, “I hated your Nana when I first met her. I flat out refused to speak her until about a year after we got our soul marks.”

“What?!”

“It’s true.” Nana commented, “Your grandfather would rather bite his hand off than be in the same vicinity as me.”

“B-but how? You guys are literally the cutest old married couple ever!”

Nana sighed, “Let’s just say it was very hard being a female Alpha when I was your age. Female Alphas were still rather rare back then, despite them being pretty common nowadays, and no one saw me as a ‘real Alpha’ which meant I had to assert myself as not just an Alpha but The Alpha and make sure that everyone knew it. As you might have guessed, I wasn’t the most pleasant person to be around at the time. I was rude, dominant, loud, aggressive, and walked around like I was the shit. Needless to say, your Papa wasn’t very impressed when he first met me back in our early college years. I tried to woo him to the best of my abilities but he’d just roll his eyes and tell me to leave him alone.”

“Then, how did you guys end up being together if he hated you so much?”

“There was a house fire one night where your grandmother lived.” Papa explained, “I was walking home from work when I saw it and noticed that there were still heartbeats inside. Apparently, Nana tried to get everyone out of the house but was trapped during her last run inside while she was trying to save her little cousin. I went in and got them out as fast as I possibly could, thankfully everyone was fine and no one was gravely injured. After that I started seeing your grandmother in a different light. She still had a lot of downfalls but I came to realize she had a heart of gold, so, I figured I’d give her a chance. Just 3 years later, I found myself proposing to her.”

Derek knew he probably looked like an idiot as he stared at them but he couldn’t help it. He can’t even think about a world where his grandparents hated each other, it wasn’t right! They’re practically the most perfect couple to ever exist in the history of ever.

Nana smiled softly at him. “Derek, soulmates aren’t going to fall in love with each other the moment they see the marks on their skin. The whole idea of soulmates being all over each other the moment they meet is a lie invented by society. It’s hard being with someone who’s basically a complete stranger to you and know in your mind that they’re ‘the one’ and it’s even harder to visualize yourself with them if you start off on the wrong foot. But sweetie, I’m telling you from experience, it’s worth it. Yes, you can be perfectly happy with someone who isn’t your soulmate, your parents as well as your aunt and uncle are prime examples of that, but once you know who your soulmate is there is no way you’ll ever feel happy with someone else. Even if you claim to hate Stiles you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering what would have happened between you two, what you could have had together… I don’t want you to do that to yourself Derek. Choose your next steps carefully.”

With that his grandmother stood up and left the dining room, leaving him alone with Papa.

“Derek, no one in this family hates you and your mother isn’t going to kick you out of the pack, you’re a great kid and we love you very much, but, you messed up. You wanted so much to make a name for yourself that you let yourself get lost in the process. I know this isn’t the only reason you started harassing Stiles, there has got to be more to the story than just simply being manipulated by Jackson, but I won’t push for more information if you’re not ready to share it with me and Nana yet. Just know that, soulmate or not, Stiles is still a person that you deliberately abused and humiliated even when he did absolutely nothing wrong to deserve it. Whether you choose to solidity the bond or not is between the two of you but you should still give him an honest apology and try to make it up to him, the kid deserves that in the very least.”

A moment later, his grandfather gave him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder and walked out of the dining room.

Derek shut his eyes and massaged his temples, he was more confused now than ever.

 

* * *

 

Jackson almost jumped out of his skin when he felt his phone start to buzz. It was mid afternoon and his parents were off working on a new case so he sneaked into their combined offices to retrieve his and Isaac’s phones.

His parents had done everything in their power to limit his contact with his friends and this was the first chance he's had to communicate with the outside world via technology in nearly a week.

“Hey, Jackson.”

“Lydia?!” Jackson screeched. He thought he would never hear her voice again after her parents made her stay with her grandmother in Idaho.

“The one and only, babe.”

“How are you? Are you doing okay? How long are they going to keep you there?”

He heard Lydia sigh from the other end. “I’m fine, physically at least. My grandmother is making me go to this stupid all girls private school and I hate it! They make me wear this hideous uniform with khaki pants and a white long-sleeved button up along with a tie and horrendous sneakers. They won’t even allow me to wear jewelry! And I had to cut my nails because they were ‘too long’ and violated the dress code. I don’t know how I’m going to survive here.”

Jackson opened his mouth to try and reassure the redhead that everything was going to be fine but Lydia continued speaking before he got a chance.

“I don’t know how long I’m going to be forced to stay here but it looks like my parents arranged for this to last a while and I feel like I'm going to claw out my eyes in boredom. Plus my grandmother is extremely weird! Whenever we’re in the same room together she just stares at me and says that she’s ‘listening to what the voices have to say about me’ which, apparently, isn’t uncommon for a banshee. I mean, both my parents are werewolves so it’s not like I really know much about being a banshee but that’s just straight up creepy. I can’t believe I’m stuck in this hell hole because Stilinski decided to open his fucking mouth!”

“I know!” Jackson exclaimed, “You have no idea how fucking hard it is for me not to punch him in the face whenever I see him in the halls. These new teachers they hired are complete dicks and won’t let anyone pick on the losers, and not only that but Stilinski got himself a guard dog known as Cora fucking Hale!”

“What?! Cora Hale is hanging out with that freak? I swear everyone is going crazy! I’ve only been gone for a few days and they’ve already forgotten their place? How could you let something like this happen?!”

Jackson pales. “It’s not like I had much of a choice! That little shit got us from all angles. I would get expelled on the spot if I dared to treat Stilinski like we used to, my parents said that if they find me doing something like that again they’ll report it back to the sheriff and there’s no way I’m going to jail! They already have me in a behavioral school, I can’t fuck up again.”

“But look at what he did to me! What he did to _us_!” He heard a soft sob escape Lydia’s voice and Jackson’s resolve shattered into a million pieces. “You can’t just let him get away with this Jackson. What if we never see each other again because of him? We’re already missing our chance to go together to the The Moonlight Howl on Saturday, do you really want to let Stilinski get away with tearing us apart like this?”

“What? No, of course not. Why would you-”

Lydia cuts him off, “Then do something about it Jackson. Do it for me, for us.”

The call ends.

Jackson puts his phone down and growls in frustration. Without Lydia he feels more anxious than ever.

When they solidified the soul bond between them Jackson felt the shift that occurred inside of him and he just _knew_ that the power previously held by his parents moved to Lydia, making her the Kanima’s Master.

Jackson didn’t want to make her feel awkward about it, so, he kept it hidden. He’ll tell her eventually.

Isaac opened the door slowly and walked in with a tentative expression on his face. Fuck! Isaac probably overheard everything, Jackson always forgets that his and Isaac's rooms aren't sound proof like the rest of the house.

“Stop looking like a puppy that destroyed the house while his owners were away, I know you heard everything.”

The werewolf sighed and sat down on the bed. Moments passed with nothing but silence between them before Jackson finally snapped.

“What.” He sneered.

Isaac only shrugged, “I don’t know. It’s just… don’t you think Lydia might be… manipulating you?”

Jackson glared at the younger teen. “Why the fuck would you think Lydia was manipulating me.”

“She basically called you to tell you to start harassing Stilinski again because she doesn’t like staying with her grandmother! She didn’t even say she missed you, she just complained and told you to put Stilinski back in his place even though you told her you could go to _jail_ if you got caught. I… I don’t think what you have with her is healthy Jackson.”

The kanima couldn’t bite back the growl that was crawling up his throat. Isaac, his own _brother_ , was telling him that the relationship he had with his _soulmate_ wasn’t healthy. What the actual fuck?!

“Don’t you dare give me that bullshit! Lydia and I are soulmates, she loves me! She _has_ to love me!! And that little shit will not get away with making the love of my life suffer. I don’t care what the fuck Stilinski thinks he can do now that he presented, he’s still weaker than me, I can still overpower him and teach him what happens when he steps out of line.”

“Jackson stop!” Isaac exclaimed, “It’s over, we’re already being punished for bullying Stilinski, I’d rather not go to jail for doing something stupid. We should leave him alone, it’s not like he ever really did anything, just let it go Jax.”

The older teen flashed his golden Beta eyes at the young werewolf. “I will not let it go! That freak is responsible for all of this and he needs to learn that I won’t let him take Lydia away from me!!”

Isaac’s face contorts into one of pure frustration and as he groans. “Why are you so insistent on torturing Stilinski?! He’s not the one fucking your soulmate, Aiden is! Is it because you’re afraid of picking a fight with an Alpha? Is that what this is?! You don’t want to risk losing so you decided to pick on the easiest target?”

“Why the hell do you care so much all of a sudden?! You didn’t give a shit when you locked Stilinski in the cafeteria freezer and helped me beat him up. Why do you suddenly have a problem with this?!”

“Because I don’t want to be like my father!”

Jackson freezes. He wasn’t expecting that answer.

“What?” The older teen asked while he watched Isaac avoid his gaze.

The werewolf reeked of shame.

“I don’t want to be like my father.” Isaac repeated, slower this time. “When we first started doing this to Stilinski last year I didn’t think much of it, everyone else was doing it and none of the teachers seemed to care, so, I started calling him names and pushing him against the lockers and stuff. It felt good, being able to overpower him and see that I wasn’t weak like my father always said I was. As more time passed I noticed the bullying became more intense, but, so did the feeling of power and control so I didn’t stop. I locked him in the freezer because I wanted to make someone else feel just as hopeless and powerless I did, but, when he said I was exactly like my father the feeling of power went away and I realized how right he was. I never… I never wanted to become anything like him and yet… here I am. I’m not going to do that again Jackson. Not to Stilinski, not to anyone. I’m not going to become my father.”

Jackson wanted to be mad at Isaac, wanted to yell at him and tell him to get a fucking grip, but, he didn't.

The Beta knows the horrible things that the young wolf thinks about his biological father and the last thing he wants is for Isaac to think all those horrendous things about himself.

He’s still going to find a way to make Stilinski pay for what he did to Lydia, but, he’ll make sure to keep Isaac out of it. The blond teen doesn’t need to be dragged into this again.

Jackson doesn’t comment on Isaac’s theory of why he has it out for Stiles and not Aiden, he doesn’t want to growl at him again. But he can’t help the sting he feels at the reminder of Lydia’s casual hook ups with Aiden.

He always smelled faint arousal coming from Lydia whenever they crossed paths with the Alpha werewolf and Jackson never missed the way he would always smirk at him in the halls.

Jackson always wondered if Aiden was better in bed than he was, if that was why Lydia kept going to him for company whenever they fought. Sometimes he’d even wonder if Lydia purposefully started fighting with him just to have sex with Aiden.

The Beta shook his head to rid his mind of his numerous thoughts about his soulmate and the Alpha.

It didn’t matter if Aiden was Lydia’s booty call once a week, _he_ was her soulmate, not Aiden. Lydia loved _him_ , not Aiden, she’ll never love Aiden.

They’re soulmates, Lydia has to love him, she has to…

 

* * *

 

 Laura groaned as she stomped out of Victoria’s Secret with a bag containing 2 bras that cost her nearly one hundred dollars. “I swear to all the fucking fates in existence I hate being a girl! My precious hard earned money has to be wasted on buying bras for these stupid organic milk sacks and pads for my unwanted monthly subscription of death's waterfall. It’s not like I asked for blobs of fat on my chest or suicidal ovaries so why the fuck are bras and pads not free?!”

Cora sighed. "Laura, stop staying up late on Tumblr, you have a problem if you can resight posts nearly word for word."

"It's true though!"

“I’m not sure I should be here for this sort of conversation.” Stiles commented as he walked with Cora and Laura through the mall.

The two girls have driven to his house and forced him into the car without telling him where they were going. It wasn’t until they arrived at the mall that they told Stiles they were going to give him a ‘super awesome makeover’ as well as force him to help carry some of their bags.

They all decided it would be best to get all of Laura’s shopping done first since apparently there are just some things that were too expensive in New York.

Stiles regretting all his life choices when both girls finished buying all their necessities and turned to him with matching smirks.

Two hours later Stiles was in a dressing room refusing to come out despite Laura and Cora’s pleads.

So far he’d been forced into trying on 11 different outfits and had ended up buying of them at their insistence, but, this outfit was different.

The others had been a simple t-shirt with jeans, sneakers, and maybe a jacket or sweater. They even got him a watch along with a few beanies and some unscented cologne that is enchanted to enhance his natural scent instead of replacing it with something else like most colognes were designed to do.

In short, both girls had selected things that were stylish but rather common outfits for guys his age to wear. This one, however, was so out of Stiles’ comfort zone it might as well be in a different dimension.

He’s currently wearing grey skinny skins that feel way too tight for comfort, a pair of combat boots, and a blue muscle shirt that just looks like a loose blue tank top until you see that the arm hole reaches half way down his side.

The outfit in itself wasn’t very out there but Stiles was so used to covering himself up to hide the bruises that it felt unnatural to wear something that revealed so much of his skin, especially his scrawny ass arms.

He had some muscles, sure, but not enough to look like the super model body figure that most male werewolves were known to have.

Stiles was snapped out of his thoughts as a firm hand grabbed his wrist as hauled him out of the changing room. When he stumbled out the Omega was faced with Laura and Cora’s identically shocked expressions and he instantly tried to hide his gangly arms from their view before he blinded them with his pasty skin.

“Oh my god you’re so fucking hot!” Laura squealed, “I knew that muscle shirt would make you look like the sexy motherfucker you were born to be.”

Cora nodded in agreement. “I hate when you’re right, but, you’re so fucking right. And those jeans! God, your ass looks like a wet dream Stiles.”

“What?” Stiles said as he blinked at the two girls. Did he hear that right?

The female Alpha narrowed her eyes. “Why do you look so surprised by this? You’re hot, like, _burning_ hot. I’d totally see myself banging you if you were legal.”

Stiles scoffed, “You’re just saying that. Imagine you didn’t know me and saw me walked down the street. What would you say to me?”

Laura and Cora smirked evilly as they gave him a once over with heated eyes. Laura lifted her head to the ceiling and began singing -more like screeching- at the top of her lungs.

“Hump me! Fuck me! Daddy better make me choke!”

Both girls plastered themselves on opposite sides of him and Stiles was mortified to see that people in the store have started staring at them as Laura continued to sing.

“Hump me! Fuck me! My tunnel _loves_ to deepthroat!”

Then Cora joined her for what Stiles could only imagine was the chorus.

“Lick, lick, lick, lick! I wanna eat your dick! But I can’t fuck with my nails! So imma pick it up with chopsticks!!”

The second they finished the two Hale siblings started laughing and pretended like Stiles wasn’t standing between them completely mortified by what just happened. He’s never going to step foot in this mall ever again!

“Laura!” Cora exclaims as she gasps for air between laughs. “I think we broke Stiles!”

“Nah, he’s just in shock. Give him a second to fully let our awesomeness wash over him. We probably overloaded his senses with our badass singing skills.”

Stiles snorted despite himself and shook his head at them. “Why am I friends with you?” He said as he failed to hide the blush seeping into his cheeks due to the utter embarrassment he was experiencing right now.

Laura beamed, "Because we're fabulous. Now, enough with the embarrassment, you need to be ready to strut that glorious ass of yours all through the halls of Beacon Hills High tomorrow. You have nothing to be insecure about, and if for some unknown reason you think you’re not hot as hell, fake it til you make it babe.”

“Yeah, sure.” Stiles mumbles, not believing a word she says.

Cora rolls her eyes, “I'll never understand how we could have so many years of education yet nobody ever teaches us how to love ourselves and why it's important. I, Cora Elizabeth Hale, solemnly swear that by the end of this school year, Stiles Stilinski will be comfortable in his own body. And if anyone gives you shit for it, I'll rip their balls out.”

Stiles doesn’t respond but gives her a small smile that he hopes conveys how grateful he is to have her as a friend. The two sisters spend another hour making him try on different outfits and insisting he keep almost all of them.

They can barely fit all the bags inside the car.

The girls convinced Stiles to go to the Hale House so they can drop off their stuff before driving him back home. He sent a quick text to his dad and got the okay from his Alpha before they left the mall parking lot and made their way towards the preserve.

When the female werewolves heard Stiles’ heartbeat speed up the closer they came to the Hale House, Laura spoke.

“Don’t worry Stiles, you won’t have to deal with Derek when we get there. Mom is making him stay at our grandparent’s house every weekend so he won’t be home until around dinner, maybe later if Nana and Papa decide to give him dinner there instead before dropping him off back home.”

After that the car fell into a comfortable silence until they reached the front of the house.

Stiles helped unload Laura and Cora’s things before the two girls went upstairs to their rooms to put everything away.

The Omega spotted a young boy sitting on the back porch with what appeared to be a notebook in his lap. Stiles thinks his name is Brandon.

Quietly, Stiles opened the door and walked to where the preteen was hunched over scribbling over the page.

“What are you doing?”

The kid jumped as his limbs flailed wildly in an attempted to close the book before Stiles could see what was inside of it. Stiles couldn’t help but snort at the sight of a Hale, especially Derek Hale’s little brother, flailing in such a way.

The Omega smiles apologetically as he hears the pup try to calm his racing heart. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. You okay?”

“Y-yeah. Um, you’re Derek’s soulmate right?”

Stiles took a seat next to the younger werewolf. “Nope, you must be confused, I'm Malia's soulmate actually." He states with a smirk, "I'd prefer you just call me Stiles though.”

The young boy chuckles and looks at him nervously for a moment before glancing back to the black notebook, which Stiles notices is actually a sketchbook, and fidgets. “You’re, uh, not going to tell anyone are you?”

“That you have a sketchbook?” Stiles asks with a raised eyebrow, the kid nods.

“I won’t tell anyone, don’t worry. But, why don’t you want anyone to know?”

Brandon shrugs but explains anyway as he stares at the wooden steps of the porch. “It’s not anything special. Michael excels in anything academic, Laura is the politician of the family and can talk circles around anyone, Derek dominates everything that deals with sports, Cora is the best fighter in the pack, and Nora is able to make anyone smile. I’m just Brandon... the video game kid.”

“Well then, ‘Brandon the video game kid’, would you mind letting me look at what you have in your sketchbook?”

The preteen looked apprehensive but passed Stiles the black sketchbook anyway.

“I’m not very good so if it’s bad, please don’t laugh. I sort of just try to draw stuff I see, it probably sucks.” Brandon says as he hands him the sketchbook. The kid looks like he’s giving Stiles his soul and the Omega just wants to hug him.

“Dude, you’re talking to a person that can’t even draw stick figures properly. Trust me when I tell you that I won’t laugh at you.”

Stiles opens the sketchbook and feels his mouth fall open when he sees the first image. It’s a drawing of the preserve, and it looks so. fucking. real.

“I thought you said you were bad! This is amazing! There’s no way this is your first sketch, how long have you been drawing?”

Brandon rubs the back of his neck nervously before answering, “Since I was around 7? I had art throughout all of elementary school and I liked it a lot, it was fun. My teacher gave me a sketchpad in second grade and told me to show her a new drawing every week. They were just little doodles at first but then she started teaching me a bunch of new techniques and showed me how to shade and stuff as I got older. She gave me this sketchbook during my fifth grade graduation but I didn’t start drawing on it until this summer. You… you really think it’s good?”

“I think this is more than good, this is fucking fantastic!”

The younger wolf chuckles softly, “It’s only the first thing I drew, the sketches get better after that one. At least, I think they do.”

Stiles keeps flipping the pages to see all the drawings, they're all great, but Stiles sees how they get more life like with every turn. Soon Stiles goes from seeing beautiful sceneries to seeing incredible portraits of people and sometimes even animals.

Everything Stiles sees is spectacular and his eyes scan furiously over the page as if to carve every curve of the pencil or pen to his memory, but, one image makes him stop and stare at it for longer than any of the others.

“What’s this?”

Brandon glances over Stiles’ shoulder to see what drawing he was talking about.

“Oh… that’s, um, well… it’s a picture of me and Derek that I have in my room. It was taken during the summer before he started high school so he was 14 and I was 9 when we took it.”

Stiles looked back at the drawing.

Derek looked different, he was obviously less muscular and his face was rounder but there was something in the way his eyes looked. His eyes looked kinder, his smile softer, and he looked nothing like the guy that spent a year and a half making sure Stiles was constantly visiting the hospital.

“You both look so happy.” Stiles murmured. He didn’t even notice he said it out loud until he saw Brandon give him a sad smile.

“Yeah, we went to the park and got ice cream together that day. It wasn’t anything special but it was nice. This picture was actually in his room but then he gave it to me because ‘his room was too crowded and he needed to make space’ so, I kept it in my room. We don’t hang out anymore, not like we used to…”

“Why not?”

Brandon shrugged, “I don’t know, he just stopped hanging out with me after he became friends with Jackson and those other people.”

A moment of silence passed before Stiles spoke up again. “I’m guessing you don’t like them very much?”

“More like hate their guts.” The young boy stated. “They all call me ‘runt’ and always make me leave the room because ‘the big kids are going to talk’ and Derek just lets them! I mean, I know it can be annoying to have your little brother around all the time but they don’t have to be so damn patronizing about it. At first Derek would apologize after they left and watch a movie with me to cheer me up but after a while he stopped apologizing and acted as if it was normal.”

Stiles hated the look of sorrow displayed on the boy’s features. It made him want to punch Derek in the face even more.

“Derek’s a dick.”

That startles a laugh out of Brandon’s lips and Stiles considers it a small victory.

 

* * *

 

Stiles woke up on Wednesday feeling oddly restless. It felt like he had too much energy in his system and no matter what he did he couldn’t get it out.

He hasn’t felt like this since he presented.

The Omega knew that his ADHD was probably still going to be there even after he presented but up until now his wolf had been nothing but calming to him. His skin felt too tight.

Stiles didn’t want to worry his dad, the man had just finished doing a night shift and he needed to sleep, and Cassidy was currently knocked out on the couch where she spent who knows how long searching the internet for buildings to start up her business.

Not wanting to bother either of them, Stiles took some Adderall and left to go to school.

He knew that his prescription wasn’t meant to be taken after he presented because his body would dissolve it before it could take effect but he hoped that it would work as a placebo and make him feel less jittery during class.

When Stiles hops off the jeep he’s not surprised to see a handful of eyes staring at him. He still comes to school early for some time in the music room with Paige but nowhere near as early as he used to, so, there were always a couple of people already in school by the time he arrives.

The Omega has had eyes tracking him since he first stood up to his abusers but he's been getting much more heated glances directed at him since Monday when he first arrived with a new look and a freshly painted jeep. Apparently, while Cora and Laura took him on a wild shopping spree his dad and Cassy had taken Roscoe out to get repainted.

It’s still the same bright baby blue color it always was but the new coat gave his baby an air of freshness it hadn’t had in a long time.

Stiles was wearing a grey t-shirt with a black and white photo of multiple skyscrapers plastered in the front of it with some dark jeans that looked almost black accompanied by a pair of sneakers and a dark denim jacket.

He doesn’t understand what the big deal is, it’s not like he’s wearing anything out of the ordinary, but people keep looking at him and the faint scent of arousal coming from some of them is confusing to say the very least.

These people have watched as he was tormented by the popular gang and called him a freak since he stepped foot in the school but now they’re salivating over him like he’s the last bottle of water in the fucking desert!

Stiles will never understand the unimaginable complexities that is the teenage brain.

Throughout the day his inability to sit still only gets worse. Allison, Cora, and Paige all comment on in during lunch and ask him if he’s okay.

He simply smiles reassuringly at them before saying that he’s fine and it was probably just his ADHD acting up again. Only, he knew it wasn’t.

When the school day was finally over the Omega rushed straight home. He felt like he was being suffocated in his own skin and if he didn't find a way to release the excess energy he would explode.

A massive headache was starting to form as he finally parked the jeep outside of his house. God, he felt like his skin was getting tighter by the second.

When he opened the front door Cassidy was instantly in front of him with a worried look on her face.

“Stiles? You don’t look so good. Is everything alright duckling? How are you feeling?”

Stiles groaned and leaned into her comforting touch. “Like shit. My head is throbbing, my hands are shaking, and I feel like I’m going to explode in a matter of minutes if I don’t _do_ something!”

“I’ll get your dad and some pills for the headache, you just stay on the couch and try to not explode while I’m gone.” She said before flying up the stairs to his dad’s room.

Not even a minute later his dad comes running down the stairs with Cas following close behind him.

“Stiles, what’s the matter kiddo?”

Stiles explains how he’s been feeling to his dad as Cassidy hands him a glass of water with some Advil, which thankfully still work on supernaturals due to their enclosed gel capsule that prevents it from dissolving too quickly.

Once the Omega finishing explaining his dad stays silent for a moment before speaking up again.

“Well, if you feel like you have too much energy then this could just be your body reacting because of the full moon this Saturday. The first full moon is always the hardest and since you presented just last week the effects will feel stronger. I’m sure you’ll feel better once you shift into your wolf form.”

After that all three of them head to the backyard.

“Alright kiddo, don’t get frustrated when you don’t shift immediately, it’s completely normal for the first shift to take awhile. Just try to relax, let your senses take over, and focus on your wolf.” His father explained calmly.

Stiles tried to forget about his still throbbing head and the tightness of his skin as he attempted to focus solely on his wolf. He closed his eyes to help him concentrate but nothing seemed to be happening and the energy rushing through his veins was almost too much to bare.

“Don’t force it Stiles.” He heard his father announce. “Pay attention to your surroundings. Let your senses do all the work for you.”

The teen takes a deep breath and tries to focus once more.

He takes in the fresh smell of grass, the cold breeze caressing his skin, the ruffling of fallen leaves, the soft pitter patter of small animals, and the distant chirps of birds hiding in the trees.

There’s something else he’s sensing though, something more abstract, better defined as an internal feeling than anything else.

It’s like he can feel everything going on around him, interconnected in an intricate web of currents that binds everything together. Stiles finds himself practically vibrating with energy, able to sense the slightest change in the atmosphere.

He’s thrumming with life and it’s almost like he can feel the power sparking up in his fingertips and surrounding him in a warm wave of light. He can see the preserve in the back of his mind, lush forests being molded by a soft translucent golden glow that moves around the trees and animals like a network of tiny streams floating in the air.

Then everything goes black.

“Stiles! Kiddo are you okay?”

“Do you not see him on the floor John!? No, he’s not fucking okay! Stiles, baby, get up!! John what the hell do we do?!”

“First, you need to calm down, panicking isn’t going to help this situation. Let’s get him to the hospital, Dr. Deaton is their Omega specialist, he has to have an explanation for this.”

The voices become distant and Stiles lets himself fully drift into unconsciousness.

When Stiles opens his eyes again he’s surprised to find himself lying on a hospital bed in an empty room. The door opened a moment later.

“Ah, Mr. Stilinski, nice to see your awake. Your father was called into work a few minutes ago but your aunt is just going to get something to eat and will be back shortly.” The doctor -Dr. Deaton if Stiles remembers correctly- informs as he scribbles something on his clipboard.

“What happened?”

Deaton didn’t even look up from his clipboard as he explained, “Well, from what both your father and aunt have explained, it seems you were surrounded by blue fire until it combusted into thin air and you lost consciousness.”

“What?! I was surrounded by blue fire? How the fuck is that even possible?!” Stiles screeched.

“Before I can give you an answer to that question could you please describe how you were feeling before? I’ve been informed you weren’t feeling well.”

Stiles sighed, “I been feeling really jittery since I woke up. The feeling just got worse as the day dragged on and by the time I got home from school I had a major headache. Dad said it was probably just my body reacting to the full moon being so close and tried to help me shift into my wolf form because he thought it would help.”

“And how about what was going on while you were focusing on the shift? Can you describe what you experienced?”

“I guess I felt… connected? I don’t really know how to explain it, it just felt like I became a part of everything, as if I could feel the slightest change from miles away deep inside my bones. And then I saw the preserve but it was different, it was surrounded by this transparent light and it kind of looked like little rivers moving around everything and it felt so real I think I could actually feel it between my fingers."

The druid was looking at him with a pensive expression. “I believe you have discovered your Special Ability Mr. Stilinski.”

“My Special Ability is having hallucinations and getting migraines?” Stiles deadpanned.

Dr. Deaton looked at him with amusement, at least Stiles thinks it’s amusement, it’s hard to tell.

“No Mr. Stilinski, your Special Ability is energy manipulation. What you experienced was only a glimpse of what your ability entails, you were seeing the energy currents move through the preserve but I believe you'll be able to do much more than that with some training. Although I’ve never heard of an Omega having this specific ability, energy manipulation is rather popular in the culture of magic welders such as myself. Considering this is the first time in documented history an Omega has been given this Special Ability I would like to help you in controlling this new power and monitor your progress. I spoke to your father about it before he left and he gave his approval but the decision is yours, if you do not feel comfortable with it I won’t push the issue further.”

Stiles was silent for a few moments, contemplating what the druid had said. “I’ll agree, but, only if everything stays completely confidential. None of the information you acquire will be leaked into the public or mentioned outside of the presence of me and my family.”

“No need to worry, whatever I observe will be for you and your family’s ears only. I’m interested to see what you’ll be able to do with your Special Ability. If your power is strong enough I believe you might even be able to perform some forms of magic.”

Just then the door bursts open and Cassidy is suddenly right next to him.

“Stiles! Don’t you ever do that to me again, you almost gave me a heart attack!! Do you have any idea how I was?! Thank fuck you’re okay!”

“I’m fine Cas.”

“I know that you idiot! Doesn’t mean my heart didn’t jump out of my throat when I saw you _surrounded by blue flames_!”

Stiles chuckled at her dramatics, “I thought you’d think it was cool.”

“It was cool!” She exclaimed in frustration. “Really fucking cool! And terrifying! So incredibly terrifying!!”

The Omega just shook his head and let her continue to fuss over him for a few more minutes before Deaton gave him the all clear to leave.

 

* * *

 

On Friday Stiles found himself thinking back to what they read in the textbook in his new Omega Culture class earlier that day.

Stiles couldn’t believe that during the Renaissance era in Western Europe male and female Omegas were seen as the equivalent of the nobility despite the majority of them being from the working class.

An Omega wife or husband was seen as one of the most pristine luxuries and was the cause of envy throughout the time period.

Omega women were given much more respect than ladies of the Alpha and Beta categories and report of their mistreatment was automatically followed by the execution of the abuser. On a similar note, Omega males were treated much the same as the females in terms of the level of respect they received and they were encouraged to speak their opinion about the laws and court rulings.

Stiles wanted to know everything he could about Omegas and now that he is going to start meeting with Dr. Deaton on Saturdays he can learn even more about Omegas while simultaneously learning to control his new power.

Stiles was fascinated by everything he comes to discover about his category and he didn’t want anything more than to just stay in class and listen as Ms. Martinez explains the roles they played throughout history but the period had come to an end and he had to meet up with Paige in the music room.

It had become a customary for the two of them to meet up during free period and practice their music together.

“Hey Stiles, excited for the Moonlight Howl tomorrow night?” The older werewolf said once Stiles walked in.

Stiles froze. “Wait. That’s tomorrow?!”

“Yeah, it starts at 8.”

Fuck! How the hell is this his life? He was so focused on his first meeting with Deaton tomorrow that he completely forgot about the Moonlight Howl!

“I’m not going.” He declares in feigned confidence as he finishes setting up his sheet music. Stiles doesn't care if it's mandatory for all unmated werewolves to go, he'd rather have a few more hours with Dr. Deaton than go to a stupid party.

The Beta stares at him in confusion from where she was tuning her cello. “What do you mean you’re not going? Every unmated werewolf in the entire state of California has to go. You might have a soul mark but until you solidify the bond with your mystery person, which you have yet to tell me their name, you’ll still be categorized as unmated. It’s not optional, especially not when the Hales were given the honor of hosting it this year. Cora would kill you if you didn't go.”

Stiles sighed. The Moonlight Howl was a special gathering of all unmated werewolves in the state. Bonded werewolves were still welcomed to come and other supernaturals could join in on the festivities as well but it’s only the unmated werewolves that were required to attend.

They call it the Moonlight Howl because when someone finds their soulmate during the event, whether they be werewolves or another form of supernatural, all the wolves would howl up at the full moon in celebration of their union.

This would be Stiles’ first Moonlight Howl since you're only required to attend once you present but he certainly wasn’t looking forward to it.

“It’s my first full moon Paige! People are going to be in suits and fancy dresses and it’s supposed to last nearly the whole night. My dad says the first full moon is always the one where you feel the most urge to turn into your wolf form, so, how the fuck am I supposed to act normal when my skin is itching to shift into my fur?”

Paige didn't know about his new Special Ability, but, this being his first full moon is a very real reason he has for not wanting to attend. It just isn't the main reason.

“Stiles, 90 percent of the people attending the Moonlight Howl are werewolves. They won’t judge you if you’re acting a bit odd or even if you shift into your fur, they know how hard it is to control the urge to shift on the first full moon. You’ll be fine.”

The Omega isn’t so sure about that, but, he drops the subject and simply focuses on his playing.

When there were 15 minutes left before their next class started, Stiles reluctantly put away his sheet music and said his farewells to Paige as he left the room.

He had gym next and coach hated when people weren’t dressed for class on time.

Once he was dressed in his designated workout attire which consists of a plain white shirt with black basketball shorts and sneakers, Stiles put everything in his locker and walked out of the locker room.

He heads over in the direction of the school’s indoor swimming pool to take a shortcut to the gym. The only other way to the gym would require him to pass the basketball court and Derek was always there during free period, so, he makes sure to avoid it.

He's walking past the pool on his way to the gym when everything goes to shit.

“Hey Stilinski!”

Stiles turns to see Jackson standing in the other side of the room. Fuck, he didn’t even hear him coming.

“Leave me alone Jackson, I don’t want to be late for class.” The Omega states before continuing to walk towards the gym.

He hears a growl from behind him and before he can sprint away, Jackson is right in back of him, turning him around and pulling him up by the front of his shirt.

“Oh? You don’t want to be late for class? Well I don’t want to be apart from my soulmate but it looks like neither of us are going to get what we want.”

“Jackson,” Stiles said as he tried to keep his voice even. “Stop. Don’t do something you’ll regret.”

Stiles was slowly starting to panic now, the older Beta was steadily leading him closer to the pool’s edge and Stiles really hoped Jackson wasn’t about to do what Stiles thought he was.

“Do you know what day it is Stilinski?” Jackson asked, completely ignoring what Stiles had said. “It’s the day me and Lydia got our soul marks.”

Shit! The Omega tried to struggle against the Beta’s grip but Jackson's grip wouldn’t loosen.

There really wasn’t any point in trying to fight the older teen, Omegas were still physically weaker than Betas and Jackson would be able to overpower him easily unless he worked himself into an Omega Rage -which he doesn’t see much chance in happening- but Stiles was going to at least _try_ to put up a fight.

“Me and Lydia should be celebrating today. We should be walking around these halls making everyone else green with envy and making out every chance we got. But we’re not doing that, are we? Because one, stupid, insignificant Omega decided to open his mouth and make her parents send her to fucking Idaho!”

“That’s not my fucking fault!” Stiles spat. “You were the ones that decided it was a good idea to harass me, you should have been ready for the consequences.”

Jackson growled, his eyes flashing gold. “And you were the one that thought it was a good idea to open your mouth, let's see if _you’re_ ready for the consequences.”

Then Stiles was pushed into the water, immediately popping back up to get air. Jackson grabbed his hair and yanked him back down into the water.

The Omega started thrashing violently to get out of Jackson’s grip, he doesn’t think Jackson will actually drown him but his levels of panic have just been multiplied by a thousand.

The more Stiles thrashed in the water, the more Jackson pushed him down. Soon all the air he has left his lungs during the struggle and Stiles was desperate to just fucking _breathe_!

He felt himself be consumed by the panic he’d been trying to keep at bay since the moment his head went below the water. If Jackson didn’t let go of him soon he was going to drown and die in a fucking pool!

Stiles let his claws -when did he shift into his beta form?- sink into Jackson’s arms in an attempt to get the Beta to let him go. He clawed and punched and kicked and did everything he could think of to get Jackson to let him go.

He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t _breathe_!

Just as Stiles started to feel like he was dangerously close to breaking point. Jackson’s grip vanishes and something tugs him up to the surface again.

 

* * *

 

Derek was finishing off practicing his 3 pointers when he felt it. His body suddenly encased in a blind panic with no reason behind it.

At first he tried to ignore it but the sense of panic only grew the longer he refused to acknowledge it. Something definitely wasn’t right.

The Alpha worried that this strange sensation was coming from the pack bond but he soon ruled that out, this was much more intense than anything he’s ever felt through the pack bond before. It was too real.

Stiles.

This had to be what Stiles was currently feeling.

Derek stops everything he’s doing and runs, letting his wolf take over and track down the Omega’s scent.

He probably shouldn’t care about Stilinski, but, from the amount of panic flowing through the bond there has to be something seriously wrong. Plus his mom would kill him if she found out Derek knew Stiles was in trouble and didn't do anything to prevent it.

When he arrives at the school’s indoor pool all he sees is Jackson crouched over by the side of the pool with one of his arms deep in the water while the other holds onto one of the diving boards to keep him from falling. There’s blood in the water.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” He growls, causing Jackson’s head to shoot up from where it was previously glaring at the water.

Before he realizes what he’s doing Derek is throwing Jackson with all the force he could muster, causing him to land all the way on the other side of the room, and hauling Stiles up from the water.

The younger teen starts coughing violently, an insane amount of water leaving his lips. His skin is a near ghostly pale and his body trembles as he takes deep, gasping breaths.

He hears Jackson gasp and only then does he notice the scarf he’s been wearing for the past week slowly sinking into the water.

Shit, it must have fallen off when he was getting Stiles out of the pool.

“ _You’re_ that thing’s soulmate?! That’s fucking disgusting!”

Derek stands. “I’m disgusting?! You’re the one that just tried to drown someone!”

“I was putting him in his place! Like we always do!! God, I can’t believe you're fucking him!”

The Alpha can feel his eyes burn red. “I am _not_ fucking him! And even if I was at least I’m not a fucking psychopath! How do you not see how fucked up this is?!”

Jackson glares as he spits out, “The only thing I see that’s fucked up is how much you want to fuck that piece of shit’s worthless ass!”

Derek has the Beta pinned against the wall a moment later, letting his eyes continue to glow their crimson red and feeling his fangs lengthen.

He can smell the anger coming off of Jackson but he can also sense the tint of fear in his scent. Derek would be lying if he said his wolf didn’t enjoy the fear coming from the arrogant teen.

The Alpha’s voice is barely above a whisper as he says, “Say something like that again and I’ll rip your throat out with my teeth. I don’t care what you think, you can’t just go around trying to _drown_ people for no fucking reason.”

“Right.” Jackson scoffs, “Because you're so innocent in all of this. You’ve put him in the hospital more than I have and now you’re trying to tell me that what I’m doing is fucked up? Stop being a fucking hypocrite, Hale.”

Jackson then pushes Derek off of him and turns to leave. The Alpha is about to go after him but soon stops himself when he notices that the panic coming through the bond hasn’t lessened. In fact, it feels like there’s _more_ panic flooding through the bond than before.

He turns to see Stiles curled into himself on the floor taking gasping breathes with his hands pulling at his wet hair.

Fuck!

Derek is kneeling in front of Stiles in an instant. The soulbond between them is only showing him a fraction of the panic the Omega feels, Derek doesn’t want to know what the hell Stiles is feeling if this is just a fraction of it.

This is the most panic Derek has ever felt in his life and it’s not even _his_!

“Stiles? Can you hear me? Say something!”

The teen didn’t respond and just continued to take hurried breathes, as if he was still unable to breathe despite not being in the water anymore.

Derek was starting to panic, or, at least, he thought he was panicking. He couldn’t decipher how much panic was coming from Stiles and how much was coming from him.

Once the Alpha realized he had no idea how to handle this type of situation he lifted Stiles into his arms and ran to the nurse’s office.

The Omega struggled against his grip as the panic Derek felt through the bond intensified. Derek tightened his grip and ran faster.

When they finally arrived at the nurse’s office Derek was instructed to put Stiles on the tiny bed in the corner of the room, which he did immediately, not wanting Stiles to slash his throat out with his still elongated claws.

The nurse crouched down in front of Stiles and used soothing words to try and calm him down without touching him. She tells him to listen to her heartbeat and try to mimic it, reminding him to take deep breathes.

Derek slowly feels the panic start to slowly leave the bond, but, his mind is running one hundred miles a minute.

He can’t believe Jackson would go so out of his way to actually kill Stiles. Sure, they’ve been getting more violent in their forms of messing with Stilinski but Derek never thought that any of them would try to end the kid’s life!

But, as he watched the nurse try to calm a frantic Stiles, he couldn’t stop thinking about all the times he caused Stiles to have a panic attack just like this one and laughed.

He had pushed Stiles to this point on more than one occasion and he fucking _laughed_!

Derek never meant for all of this to get so out of hand. He never wanted to go this far. Yet, he did. So many fucking times without even noticing.

The normality that everyone around him had about the issue made him think that it was okay to push Stiles a little more, that it was okay to take it just a little bit further...

A few moments later Stiles was breathing normally again and the nurse was asking them what happened.

Stiles explained that he was on his way to gym class when Jackson approached him and throw him into the water while Derek explained how he found Jackson keeping Stiles’ head down and that Stiles started having a panic attack shortly after getting out.

She soon left to go inform the principal of what happened, leaving Stiles and Derek alone in the room.

A minute went by with nothing but complete silence between them.

Stiles spoke first.

“Why?”

Derek looked at him, “Why what?”

“Why didn’t you let me drown?” He inquired as he stared at Derek blankly.

“He was going to kill you!”

“So?” Stiles said. “It’s not like you care either way.”

The Alpha blinked. “You… you think I wouldn’t care if you were dead?”

Something twists inside Derek’s chest.

“I don’t think you care about anything related to me period. You’ve said multiple times that I should just end my miserable existence already, I find it weird that you’re suddenly going against Jackson to keep me from dying. It’s not like you haven’t done anything similar.”

“I w-what?” Derek stuttered. He never…

Stiles glared at him. “Don’t you remember the time you got the basketball team to beat me up? I was in the ER for a week. I had a concussion and 2 broken ribs, I was unconscious for almost two days. Needless to say, I thought I was going to die and probably would have if you and your buddies decided to keep going.”

Derek felt sick. He knew what he was doing back then but the thought of actually killing Stiles never came to mind. To him, the thought of someone dying from getting beat up was ridiculous because everyone healed quickly and could take a lot of pain.

But he never really considered the fact that Stiles _didn’t_.

Stiles didn’t have enhanced healing, Stiles didn't endure as much pain, Stiles didn’t have any of it. And Derek still did all those things…

He… he was a fucking monster! How could he do something like this?! How could he think that it was okay to make someone suffer through so much for no reason?

When did the line blur? When did he change? He wasn’t like this! This isn't who he is!! He wouldn’t do something this horrible!?

Would he?

Derek didn’t know what to think anymore. He wanted to believe he wasn’t a horrible person, that he wasn’t a monster, that he wasn’t capable of killing someone.

But then he thinks back to all the things he’s done to Stiles, all the times he could have ended his life if he had just pushed a little harder, all the ways he could have tipped Stiles over the edge.

He feels like he’s going to throw up.

“I… I’m sorry.” Derek chokes out, his throat closing up and his eyes stinging.

He leaves the nurse’s office enable to face Stiles any longer. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to stop himself from breaking down if he looks into those honey brown eyes and finds them staring at him with the same bored indifference they always had when he apologizes to him every morning.

The Omega stares at the door of the nurse’s office long after Derek leaves.

Derek apologized… and, for the first time…

Stiles didn’t hear his heart skip.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading. I'm sorry if it takes me longer to post chapters now that school has started up again. I'll make sure to update as soon as I can, love you all and I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say about this chapter in the comments :)
> 
> P.S. the song Laura was singing was D_N's idea... She sings it every day during lunch just to annoy me... I hate her so much -.-


	6. Chapter 6

 When the sheriff finally arrived at the Whittemore house –more like mansion- he was greeted by the sight of Mr. and Mrs. Whittemore with matching blank expressions.

It was a sight he was used to after seeing them defend their clients in court so many times but never once has that expression been directed towards him before. It was incredibly unnerving.

They ushered him inside the extravagant house and guided him towards what he imagined was their combined offices.

Mr. Whittemore spoke first, “Thank you for coming in such short notice Sheriff Stilinski, we know you’re a very busy man.”

“This is about what your son did to Stiles. My pup is always my first priority.”

The two Whittemores nodded solemnly.

“We understand.” Mrs. Whittemore stated. “I hope you know that we are both greatly sorry for everything Jackson has put your son through and what he did today has absolutely no excuse of any kind. We’ll figure out what’s causing him to behave in such a horrid way, we know it’s hard to believe but Jackson isn’t idiotic enough to do something like this without something triggering it, not that it excuses his actions in any way. We just-”

She took a deep breath before continuing.

“We wanted to give you our formal apology for everything you and your son have been through because of Jackson. I don’t think he fully understands the severity of his actions quite yet. He needs to understand that he has crossed the line a long time ago and that his decisions could have ended Stiles’ life if someone hadn’t stopped him. As much as I would hate to see my son behind bars the law is the law and if either you or your son wish to press charges me and my husband will not stop you. You have every right to convict him for attempted murder.”

The Sheriff sighed heavily. There was nothing he wanted to do more than let Jackson rot in a jail cell for the rest of his life once he got the call from Mr. Whittemore telling him what happened.

Apparently, when the school called to inform him about what Jackson did the man offered to tell him about what happened to Stiles personally.

It was odd receiving a phone call from him considering they never spoke to each other more than a handful of times but when Mr. Whittemore informed him of the events that went down in school he couldn’t feel more grateful.

It was better to hear it from another parent than from the monotone voice of an administrator.

But no matter how much he wanted to tear that Jackson kid to shreds he had to speak to Stiles about this first. It was his decision in the end of the day, even if he was a minor, John wanted to respect Stiles’ decision.

A moment later the door opened to reveal the two boys on the other side.

The fear on both of their faces when they noticed the sheriff filled John with a great sense of smug satisfaction.

“W-what’s going on?” Isaac asked as he looked between the sheriff and his parents nervously.

John remembered him.

He remembered getting called on a disturbance issue turned domestic abuse, some psychotic Alpha werewolf locked this little pup inside a large meat cooler in the basement just last year.

John still can’t believe that terrified kid was a part of all this.

“It seems like your brother still doesn’t understand the serious consequences of his actions.” Mr. Whittemore explained calmly, not taking his eyes off of Jackson. “Anything you’d like to say, Jackson?”

Jackson smelled of fear and anxiety but his face stayed devoid of emotion as he said, “I don’t have to say anything.”

Mrs. Whittemore’s gaze turned cold. “Sheriff Stilinski, if you wouldn’t mind I think we need a moment alone with our son.”

“Of course.” The sheriff stated before exiting the office.

The room wasn’t sound proof so he tried his best to keep his attention from the voices coming from the behind the office door. He tries to distract himself to keep from overhearing their conversation but it was out of his control when a loud voice echoed through the house.

“Why do you care anyway?! You guys are never home and yet you think you know what's best for me? You know more about your damn clients than you do about me so don't even try me with that bullshit! It’s none of your business any! You’re not even my real parents so _fuck off_!!”

Then there was silence.

The voices coming from the room stopped and John could almost taste the tension in the air despite not even being in the same room.

The scent of sorrow was faintly in the air and a moment later the door to the office opened, revealing Mrs. Whittemore with red rimmed eyes.

The sheriff made sure not to mention it when she came to stand next to him. He knew she never showed those kinds of emotions outwardly, would rather keep them hidden from prying eyes if possible.

She wiped her eyes quickly before speaking. “My apologies. I needed a moment to compose myself.”

“There is no need to apologize.”

A moment passed by in silence before she spoke up again.

“I am truly sorry for what Jackson did. My husband and I would have never thought that our son could be capable of something like this. We know he can get violent to release his frustrations and we know his insecurity and abandonment issues have just been getting worse since Lydia started sleeping with some Alpha werewolf but we also know that Jackson isn’t dumb enough to do something like this based on pure anger, someone needed to plant this idea in his head. He wouldn’t… he wouldn’t do something like this otherwise.”

The sheriff thinks for a moment. “Do you have any idea as to who might have influenced Jackson into doing this?”

“Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lydia was behind all this. Jackson thinks he’s sly as a fox but I know that she’s been the Kanima’s Master ever since they solidified the soul bond between them. Whether she herself knows she it or not, I can’t be certain, but, if she were to somehow ask or imply Jackson to do something of this sort to Stiles then Jackson wouldn’t have any choice in the matter. He might think this was all his idea but in reality he was just unconsciously following orders.”

“Why would Lydia want something like that to happen to Stiles?” John asked.

Maybe if he treated this like an ordinary case then he won’t feel the need to slaughter these idiotic teenagers for hurting his son.

Mrs. Whittemore seemed to catch on almost instantaneously to what he was trying to do.

“Her parents sent her to live with her grandmother in Ohio to attend an all-girls boarding school for the rest of the year. They’re hoping the strict rules and regulations of the school as well as her grandmother’s stern parenting will help teach her some form of discipline before she returns to Beacon Hills during the summer. Considering Lydia has always gotten her way with everything I don’t find it hard to believe that she would want someone to harm Stiles on her behalf.”

John sighed. These kids are tormenting his pup for something as petty as being punished?

He has a feeling his want to sink his claws into their necks is not going to go away anytime soon.

 

* * *

 

Derek gets home a lot earlier than usual. He decided not to go to practice despite knowing that his coach was going to kill him on Monday for skipping out. Hopefully he’s early enough that no one else is home yet.

“Well you’re home early.”

Fuck.

When is Laura going back to college again?

Derek grumbled under his breath and walked up the stairs toward his room in hopes that Laura would leave him alone if he ignored her.

It doesn’t work.

Instead, Laura follows him and plants herself on his bed as if it was her own.

“So, spill, I know you’ve got news.”

Derek glares at her. “Why do you care? Last time I checked I was nothing but an abusive asshole that should be kicked out of the pack.”

The older Alpha sighed heavily before looking back at him, she had the decency to look ashamed. “Look, I said I was sorry about that okay? I didn’t realize you were feeling unwanted and hated until Nana and Papa pointed it out to the pack. It’s just…”

She breathes in deeply before continuing.

“Derek, you’re my brother and I love you, but, when I heard about what you did I just didn’t know how to handle it. You know me Derek. You know how I hate people that pick on someone weaker than them just because they fucking can, how I hate people that think they can get away with anything just because they’re Alphas, and how I hate people that hurt others just for the fun of it. It’s something that I’ve been openly against since the beginning of time! So, to find out that _you_ , the golden child of the house and biggest puppy in the Hale family, are one of those assholes took me by surprise. Looking back on my reaction now, yeah, the way I reacted wasn’t the best, but I honestly didn’t know how else to react Der. It was a knee-jerk reaction.”

The younger Alpha scoffs. “Nice to know your knee-jerk reaction was to kick me out of the pack.”

“I said I was sorry okay, _multiple times_! Now can you stop stalling and tell me what happened? And don’t even think about lying to me because we both know you’re a horrible liar.”

Derek glared at her but the effect was lost as he collapsed on the bed next to his older sister with a heavy sigh. “I messed up.”

Laura hummed for a moment before speaking up again. “And how, _exactly_ , did you mess up?”

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you?” The younger Alpha mumbled.

“Yes, I am. Now elaborate.”

There’s a long pause before Derek finally broke the drawled out silence. He could practically feel Laura’s eyes on him.

“Jackson was trying to drown Stiles during the last few minutes of free period.”

“The fuck?!?”

“ _Anyway,_ ” Derek continued despite his sister’s interruption. “I felt this wave of panic out of nowhere and I tried to ignore it at first but it just kept getting more intense and I knew it wasn’t the pack bond because the pack bond has never been that clear before, so, it had to be Stiles right? And so I went looking for him. It didn’t take long to track his scent since he’s the only male Omega in the school-”

“And your soulmate.” Laura commented cheerfully.

Derek ignored her. If he found Stiles’ scent a little bit alluring, no one had to know. “And then I see Jackson hunched over the edge of the fucking pool holding Stiles down and I just _lost it_! Like, I would have ripped Jackson’s throat out if I hadn’t felt Stiles’ increasing panic. I was ready to maim him.”

The older Alpha gave an almost inaudible growl. “You should have.”

“No, I shouldn’t have! Jackson’s my friend, well, was. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to be in the same room as him without trying to rip him to shreds.”

“Good.” Laura announced with a firm nod of her head. “I always hated him.”

“Not. Helping.”

The female werewolf simply raised her hands in a mock surrender. “Okay, okay. Got it, no more interruptions.”

Derek couldn’t help but roll his eyes at her declaration. They both knew that was nothing but a well-rehearsed lie.

Laura couldn’t keep her opinions to herself even if her life depended on it.

The junior waited for a moment, making sure that Laura wasn’t going to speak up again, before continuing.

He talks about how Stiles wasn’t breathing properly and how the panic Derek felt through the bond just intensified and he didn’t know what the fuck to do.

“It’s called a panic attack, dumbass.” Laura says with an eye roll.

The high schooler looks at her blankly. “Wow. Thanks Laura, you’re so insightful.”

“I’m just trying to enlighten my brother.” She explains. “Seriously though, why are you explaining all of this to me? I thought you didn’t care about Stiles.”

“I don’t!”

Laura looks at him, unimpressed by his declaration. “Then why are you suddenly feeling like you ‘messed up’?”

“Because Stiles thought I would have just let him drown!”

“So?”

Derek gawks at her, and Derek _never_ gawks but for fuck’s sake Laura just said ‘so’ to the thought of Stiles thinking Derek would actually let him die.

She can’t actually believe this isn’t a big deal right? He isn’t a horrible person! Derek wouldn’t allow Jackson to kill Stiles, he’s not a fucking murderer.

Why is she acting like this is nothing surprising?!

“What do you mean ‘so’?! He thought I’d actually let him die Laura! I’d never do something like that, you know I wouldn’t! Why are you acting like him thinking I’d just sit back and watch him die is not surprising?!”

“Because it isn’t.”

Derek opens his mouth to refute that her statement makes no sense, because, seriously? How can Laura even _think_ that.

The older Alpha glares at him, the glare that says she’ll cut off his balls and stuff them with wolfsbane before force feeding them to him with very pointy forks until he chokes.

He makes sure not to utter a word.

“Derek, listen to me. I know you wouldn’t do that, but Stiles doesn’t. To Stiles, you’re just another Alpha that humiliates him and bullies him during school just because you think it’s amusing to hurt him. He sees you as another abuser, another person that gives him pain. Why _would_ he think you wouldn’t let him die? You’ve done nothing to show you wouldn’t.”

The younger Alpha stays quiet for a long time, letting the weight of his sister’s words sink in.

He wants to deny it, wants to believe that he would have never taken things to such an extreme, but, Laura’s right.

Ever since he first tripped Stiles last year, Derek has been nothing but cruel to him.

Thinking back to all the times he purposefully hurt and humiliated Stiles, knowing that he was making the Omega feel that same sense of panic and fear he was feeling today, Derek can’t help but feel disgusted with himself.

He doesn’t know when he started getting carried away, doesn’t know when he started losing himself and started thinking of this behavior as normal.

At first he felt guilty, extremely guilty, but, over time it started to go away. People treated him like a celebrity in school and none of the teachers showed any signs of being against his treatment of Stiles. Plus he wasn’t the only one doing it.

Yeah it was mostly him, Jackson, Isaac, Erica, and Lydia but the entire school was in on it. Everyone spread rumors and laughed and teased the scrawny sophomore mercilessly. It was just something people _did._

Everyone claims that Stiles deserves it and that they’re only treating him like this because he was trying to break Jackson and Lydia’s soul bond but that’s bullshit.

The only reason everyone had their sights on Stiles was because Lydia and Jackson had a vendetta against him and wanted everyone to follow suit. People don’t tend to go against Jackson and Lydia, so they did their part to make sure Stilinski was miserable.

Derek thinks of his parents, of their faces when they found out that he was a part of this.

Their entire lives his parents have made it their mission to help others. His mom is one of the most influential Alphas in the nation and is a member of the Elite Council which is composed of two representatives of each supernatural community while his dad is a child psychologist that mainly deals with grief and loss.

From an early age they encouraged Derek -as well as all of his other siblings- to volunteer and help out the community. Sometimes he even volunteered in the station when they were short staffed.

Derek always thought of himself as a relatively good person but how can he call himself a good person after everything he did to Stiles? The kid actually thought that he would let him die and Derek can’t even make a solid argument against it!

He fucked up, everyone fucks up every once in awhile, but this time he fucked up so bad he doesn’t understand why he’s not in jail right now.

The Alpha can still remember the panic Stiles felt through the soul bond, still remember the fear and desperation Stiles was feeling in that moment. He can’t believe he did that to Stiles, can’t believe he did that to _anyone_.

Jackson might have been the one holding Stiles down in the pool today but Derek has made Stiles have multiple panic attacks and _laughed_ at him.

Derek is going to be sick.

“Wow, you smell like a broody ball of misery and despair. Congrats bro, you totally got the murder brows down packed.”

The younger Alpha growls and flashes his eyes at her but doesn’t say anything. His throat feels tight and he really doesn’t want to hear what his voice sounds like right now.

Laura apparently isn’t having any of it and grabs his face with one hand, forcing him to look at her. “Don't growl at me, I’m just trying to lighten up the mood since you decided this was a good time to make the room stink of teenage angst. Now that you seem to have finally realized what a dick you’ve been I’m going to ask you something and you’re going to answer honestly.”

Derek is confused as fuck but doesn’t say anything, Laura is not a person he wants to mess with.

“Do you want to fix this?”

Okay, Derek was not expecting that.

He blinks a few times before saying, “Huh?”

Laura rolls her eyes at him. “Do you want to fix this? You’ve acknowledged you screwed up, now all you have to do is decide whether or not you’ll do something about it.”

“I-” Derek pauses. He wants to fix this, he doesn’t want to keep being this person he isn’t, but, what can he do? The damage has been done. “I think it’s too late for that.”

“Only if you don’t try.” Laura explains. There’s a determination in her eyes that makes Derek feel both hopeful and terrified as fuck.

“It’s no secret that you’ve been an abusive asshat, and after spending some time with Stiles, as brief as it was, I can honestly say that you don’t deserve him. However, that doesn’t mean you’re both doomed to hate each other and be miserable for the rest of your lives. I’m not saying you’re going to live happily ever after and have lots of tiny werebabies together but I think if you try both of you can be in the same room without trying to kill each other. Who knows, maybe with time you’ll even be friends, possibly more if a miracle happens. Just… try… it’s the least you can do.”

Derek isn’t sure how likely it is that him and Stiles become anything resembling friends, let alone anything more, but, he wants to truly apologize to Stiles and make it up to him. At least a little bit.

So, he’ll try. He’ll try to fix this.

 

* * *

 

Stiles was beyond nervous. It was Saturday, the night of the Full Moon Howl as well as his first full moon ever, and his dad just told him he wasn’t going to be able to make it to the Full Moon Howl because 70% of the deputies are unmated werewolves that are _required_ to attend, leaving only him and a couple other officers available.

Cassidy’s going to come with him, so that’s a plus, but he’s still going to have to go through his first full moon trying to _not_ shift in front of everyone -which is already excruciatingly hard to do- on top of not having his Alpha to anchor him.

He’s not even going to think about how difficult it’s going to be to keep his new powers in check.

Despite Deaton helping him find a way of controlling his abilities earlier, Stiles was still very skeptical on whether it was going to work or not.

Why did all unmated werewolves have to attend this stupid thing? It would make everything so much easier if he could just, you know, not go.

But no, the fates love making him suffer so simply not going isn’t an option.

“Stop worrying duckling, you’ll be fine.” Cas reassures once they’re finally heading out the door.

Stiles just nods and hopes against all odds that she’s right. Things like this don’t usually end up going Stiles’ way.

It’s barely 8 o’clock and Stiles can already feel his wolf begging to be let free. It doesn’t feel like he imagined it would.

Instead of having an internal battle with his wolf in order to maintain control, he simply senses his wolf’s longing to howl and run and be with his pack.

Stiles doesn’t know which is worse.

He’s already itching to shift when they arrive at the plaza where the Full Moon Howl is taking place.

The party is already in full swing and a humongous amount of unfamiliar scents attack Stiles’ nose the second he steps foot in the building. Stiles is just barely starting to get used to having such enhanced senses and now that it’s the full moon his senses are even _more_ enhanced.

He _really_ doesn’t want to be here.

Stiles makes sure not to leave Cassidy’s side while searching the crowd for Cora or Paige or Allison or just someone he can fucking talk to without feeling like an awkward spaz. He’s completely out of his element.

Parties were never really his thing.

After about half an hour of being practically glued to Cassidy’s side she leaves to go to the restroom.

“I’ll be right back, promise.”

And then she’s gone, disappearing into the crowd.

Once Stiles is unable to smell her scent it’s like the entire room smells 10 times stronger. He hadn’t noticed how much Cassy’s scent was grounding him.

She smelled like pine and vanilla and pack while everyone else around him just smelled too strong to distinguish who smelled like what.

He hoped Cassidy wouldn’t take too long in the bathroom. All these different scents were making him feel light headed.

After a few moments of feeling awkward just standing in the middle of the crowd Stiles decides to make his way towards the wall where there were less people and a smaller chance of him feeling claustrophobic.

Then he bumps into what feels like a brick wall and nearly falls on his ass. Thankfully, whoever he bumped into was quick to react and held him up to prevent him from falling to his death.

“What do we have here?”

Stiles looks up to see an Alpha wereleopard with blond hair smirking at him with a predatory gleam embedded into his steel colored eyes that makes Stiles want to crawl under his own skin.

The Omega is suddenly not feeling very thankful for the dude’s fast reflexes. Falling to his death sounds pretty good right about now.

Stiles growls at him but the guy simply chuckles quietly. “You’re adorable, such a cute little Omega. Didn’t your Alpha teach you that growling is rude?”

“Fuck you!” Stiles spat and he dislodged himself from the Alpha’s grip, the fucker was stronger than he looked that’s for sure.

However, instead of the Alpha backing off and leaving him alone like Stiles wants him to do the psycho smiles at him and fucking _winks_ while saying, “I’m sure you’d love that wouldn’t you, pretty boy.”

Stiles is fuming and is just seconds away from slapping the stupid grin off the guy’s face when suddenly the scent around him intensifies, leaving him dizzy with blurry vision.

He doesn’t understand what’s going on, it’s like all his senses are tuning into that one specific scent. It’s not a bad scent but it doesn’t feel right, makes him feel uneasy.

The Omega distantly hears someone’s voice, but it’s faint and sounds far away and trying to focus on it only makes his head throb harder than it already is.

“That’s better. Such a good little Omega, so compliant for his Alpha.”

The words make him want rip the asshole’s throat out. He’s not a fucking dog that rolls over because his master said so in the hopes of getting a treat.

He wants to get as far away from this guy as possible but his head hurts and he’s seeing double and he’s pretty sure if the dude lets go of him he’ll fall on the floor with how weak his legs feel.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing? Let go of him!”

The Alpha growls. “Back off runt, he’s mine.”

“No, you back off. It’s illegal for Alphas to enhance their pheromones to lure potential mates, especially on Omegas. If you don’t let him go I’ll inform security and have you blacklisted from all Full Moon Howls.”

Stiles heard the Alpha sneer a few colorful insults to whoever it was that stood up to him before muttering a ‘whatever’ under his breath as his grip on Stiles disappeared and a new set of arms wrapped around Stiles’ waist just when the Omega’s legs were about to give out.

“Woah, you okay?”

The Omega blinks for a few moments as he tried to anchor himself again. Whoever this guy was, he smells fucking amazing.

Stiles kind of wants to bury his nose in the new Alpha’s neck and stay there forever.

The Alpha doesn’t push Stiles away like the Omega was expecting him to, instead he simply leads Stiles towards one of the tables and helps him sit down.

Stiles had to bite back the whine that threatened to claw at his throat when he sits down and is forced away from the Alpha. Fuck, when did he become so needy?

A moment later the Alpha is helping him drink some water and his vision is finally evening out as well as his headache is beginning to subside.

Once he’s done with the bottle of water he looks to see the Alpha that came to his aid with focused eyes for the first time.

He’s… not what Stiles expected.

The guy has dark brown hair that looks soft to the touch along with deep chocolate colored eyes and a kind smile. He’s wearing thick black rimmed glasses that contradict nicely with his clear pale skin as well as a lean build, more similar to Stiles’ own than those of the Alphas that typically roam the halls of Beacon Hills High.

The dude’s not what you’d imagine an Alpha to look like but he definitely isn’t having any trouble pulling off the hot nerd look.

It suits him.

“Um… thanks.” Stiles says awkwardly as he starts to fidget with the water bottle in his hands.

He’s a talkative person but starting up conversations with random strangers that look like they just got out of a photoshoot with Hot Nerdz Magazine has never really been his forte.

The Alpha smiles at him and Stiles is pretty sure this is all a dream. No way this is real. No one can have such a perfect smile.

“No problem, I hate people like that. They think they can just do what they want because of their category. It’s one of the few things that never fails to rail me up.”

The Omega can’t help the small smile that makes its way onto his lips. It’s nice knowing there are Alphas around his age that aren’t douchebags.

“Same here. I’m Stiles by the way.” He informs the Alpha.

The Alpha’s smile only widens as he says, “I’m Mason, nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine.” Stiles proclaims, returning the Alpha’s -Mason’s- smile. “If it wasn’t for you I’d still be in that dick’s arms with my feet on the verge of collapsing. What the hell even was that anyway?”

Mason’s smile slips off his face, leaving his features to look dark and murderous. “Alphas can manipulate their pheromones, make them weaker or more prominent, to influence the people around them. Omegas in particular are extremely sensitive to it and if an Alpha makes their pheromones strong enough, it has the potential of knocking an Omega out cold.”

The Alpha takes a deep breath, calming himself down, before continuing.

“The ability is mostly used to provide comfort and sooth an Alpha’s mate or someone close to them. It can also serve as an anchor, offering a sense of protection and safety to someone in a particularly vulnerable situation fighting for control. However, some people use it to lure potential mates and disorient them. It’s a method many human traffickers, kidnappers, and serial killers use to obtain their target.”

Stiles stays silent for a moment. They never taught him that in school, at least, he doesn’t think so.

“I didn’t even know Alphas could do that.”

Mason shrugs. “It’s not something everyone knows about, it’s a natural skill all Alphas have but it’s something that takes practice. Not all Alphas know how to do it and it’s not something people tend to mention in school. Heaven forbid the education system say something negative about the Alpha category.”

The Omega snorts at that. “Yeah, it seems like Alphas are idolized by society and they act like they own the place because of it. Betas make up the majority of the population so they’re kind of just there and go about their business for the most part. Omegas are hardly talked about though, it wasn’t until my school implemented the Omega Culture class last week that I found out that Omegas weren’t actually seen as brainless sex addicts throughout history.”

“What!?” Mason exclaimed. “You’ve gotta be kidding me! They don’t talk about Omegas in your school? In my old school we used to have discussions on Omega history all the time. They might be the least common of the three categories but they’re also the most important, without Omegas so many things wouldn’t have happened in our society! How the fuck did they not teach you?!”

“Turns out a lot of our teachers were pompous Alphas that thought Omegas were inferior to them and didn’t need to waste their time with educating their students on Omegas whatsoever.”

Mason looks absolutely shocked by the new information. “Well, shit.”

Stiles laughs at the Alpha’s reaction. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“You just made my new school sound like a fucking paradise, I can’t even imagine what going to school there must be like, especially since you’re an Omega. They basically took away your entire biology from existence! I don’t know what I’d so if I was in that situation but I know someone would get a very strongly worded letter from me.”

The Omega bites his lips to keep the chuckles from escaping his throat but after a moment he can’t hold it back anymore and promptly explodes into fits of laughter.

A strongly worded letter. That’s fucking perfect.

Mason blushes and ducks his head in embarrassment. It should be illegal for an Alpha to be this cute.

“I’m not a violent person.” The raven haired teen mumbles and fuck if it doesn’t make Stiles want to hug him forever. The guy is adorable!

They keep talking for a few minutes, Cassidy eventually found them and went off to talk to other people around the vicinity so she can give them space but still keep an eye on them once she saw that they were getting along extremely well with each other.

It’s nice. He doesn’t remember being able to talk to a complete stranger with such ease before.

Something about the Alpha just makes Stiles feel safe.

“I’m surprised your mate hasn’t found you yet.” Mason comments as he mindlessly plays with Stiles’ hair.

The Alpha opened up his arms in invitation when Stiles started becoming overwhelmed by everything again. The loud music and never ending new scents causing him to feel anxious and strung out.

Stiles didn’t even think twice before curling up on the Alpha’s side and burying his nose into the other werewolf’s neck.

“What do you mean?” Stiles questioned, not moving his head from it’s comfortable hiding spot. He could stay here forever.

Mason kept playing with the Omega’s hair as he elaborated. “You have a soulmark on your neck, it’s kind of hard to miss. I can smell that you’re not mated yet but if you have a soulmark then shouldn’t your soul mate be looking for you? Most soul mates can’t stand to be away from each other for more than a few minutes before they finalize the bond.”

Stiles sighed. Derek is the last thing he wants to think about right now. The more he thinks about what happened yesterday the more confused he becomes.

“Not us. We’ll probably never solidify the bond, we hate each other. This soulmark was a mistake.”

“Oh.” The teen says as his scent starts clouding with sadness. Stiles doesn’t like that smell on him. “I’m sorry, I can’t possibly know what you’re going through, but I’m sorry this happened to you. Someone like you deserves to be happy.”

Stiles looks up at him, face scrunched up in confusion. “Someone like me?”

“Yeah.” The Alpha said with a soft sigh. “You’re amazing.”

The Omega tries to hide his smile but he knows he failed miserably. No one’s ever looked at him like that before.

It makes him feel all warm inside. It’s a feeling he wouldn’t mind getting used to.

 

* * *

 

Derek thrives in social gatherings, always smiling at everyone who greets him and starting up polite conversation with anyone that comes his way.

It’s one of the things he learned from his mom. Though most people just think of it as the Hale charm.

However, just because he seems comfortable during parties such as this one doesn’t mean he wants to be there. He’d much rather be running laps around the preserve than entertaining these people that only want to talk to him because he’s a Hale.

Everyone claims he’s a crazy party boy but parties are the last things he ever wants to attend. The only reason he even goes to so many parties is because it would look weird if the captain of the varsity basketball team doesn't show up.

People expect things of him, and going to parties, is one of them.

And now he has to waste his Saturday attending this stupid ceremony because he’s an unmated werewolf and his parents would kill him if he didn’t show up.

Luckily he’s managed to stay clear of Stiles.

He wants to try and make it up to the Omega, Laura’s words echoing in his head.

Derek doubts him and Stiles will manage to have a relationship together but maybe they can put the past behind them and form some sort of friendship with each other. Cora’s really attached to Stiles so he’ll have to deal with being around him sooner or later.

He just, doesn’t know where to start.

Derek has been hurting the kid for nearly a year now, it’s not like he can just walk up to him and start up some friendly conversation. Things don’t work like that.

It isn’t until nearly midnight, party still going strong, when he finally crosses paths with the newly presented Omega. Derek can smell his scent before he actually sees him and the Alpha prepares himself for being on the receiving end of a shit ton of glaring.

Only, Stiles doesn’t glare at him when the Alpha catches sight of him. In fact, the Omega doesn’t even acknowledge him.

The younger teen has his face tucked away between someone’s neck and shoulder, his lithe body curled up next to the unknown Alpha.

Derek nearly growls at the sight. Who the hell is that guy? He doesn’t look like an Alpha but his scent definitely identifies him as one, and why is Stiles so comfortable around him?

The teen hasn’t seen the other Alpha around their school, so a classroom acquaintance can’t be it. Maybe they’re cousins or something? Derek doesn’t want to jump to conclusions again after the epic fail that was the dinner with the Stilinskis.

The Alpha still feels stupid for not noticing that Stiles and Cassidy shared the same base scent. He’s a tracker dammit! Picking up scents is what he _does_!

But this werewolf’s scent doesn’t share the same base scent with Stiles, Derek knows that for a fact.

But maybe they’re distant cousins? Or relatives through marriage?

“Something bothering you?”

Derek turns at the sound of his mother’s voice coming from behind him. He was so focused on analyzing every miniscule detail of the mysterious Alpha’s scent that he didn’t even notice his mother approaching him.

The younger Alpha shook his head, trying to rid the thoughts of who that Alpha was to Stiles that were clogging his brain.

“It’s nothing.”

His mother raises an eyebrow at him. “Really? Because it looked to me like you were 5 seconds away from tearing that Alpha apart.”

Derek scowls but doesn’t deny it. Laura is always teasing him about his ‘murder brows’ so it wouldn’t be so far fetched to believe he looked ready to strangle the guy.

Instead he says, “Who is he?”

The older Alpha studies him for a moment before turning to look at the Alpha currently cuddles up against Stiles. She stares at the unknown Alpha quietly, trying to remember who he was.

His mother knows all the packs in California, works with them personally to strengthen their alliances. Derek wouldn’t be surprised if she knew all werewolves in the state by name.

Another moment passes before she speaks again. “He’s Mason Laure, a young Alpha in the Augustus Pack living in Beacon County just 20 minutes from here. I don’t believe I’ve ever met him before but I’ve heard about him from Alpha Augustus, he’s a good pup with a gentle heart and he’s often teased for being the ‘runt’ because of his physical appearance. Other than that I don’t know much else about him.”

Derek doesn’t say anything for a moment. Okay, the guy lives in Beacon County so the chances of him and Stiles ever seeing each other again are limited.

The teen really doesn’t want to think about how the thought makes his wolf feel at ease and lessens the tight knot of emotions he’s felt lodged in his chest since he saw the Omega snuggling the other Alpha.

Derek needs to pull himself together, he can’t go around feeling whatever it is he’s feeling now simply because Stiles is with another Alpha. He shouldn’t care, Stiles isn’t his.

Stiles will never be his.

He chooses to ignore the pain in his chest at the thought, his wolf whining pathetically in his head. Why can’t he get his wolf under control?!

“Derek,” his mother says, “I know you’re jealous but-”

“I’m not jealous!” Derek snapped. He wasn’t jealous, he couldn’t be jealous, he doesn’t get jealous! “I’m just… territorial!”

Okay, so territorial wasn’t the best word he couldn’t used, Derek can admit that. But he wasn’t jealous dammit!

His mother gives him a stern look. “Derek, let me tell you something. When you’re jealous, you want something that’s not yours. But when you’re territorial, you just want to protect what’s yours. And Derek, Stiles isn’t yours. So, yes, you are jealous, stop trying to convince yourself otherwise. It’ll only make matters worse.”

Derek freezes, replaying his mom’s words.

Fuck.

“And another thing, stop thinking of your wolf as if you were two separate entities. It’s not your wolf and you, it just you. Your wolf is the most animalistic part of you, the part of you that relies heaviest on instinct, but it’s still you. It has your same emotions, your same mentality, your same interests, your same fears, your same personality… you and your wolf are the same. So, don’t treat it as if your wolf has desires that you don’t have, because that’s as far as you can get from the truth. If you don’t want it, neither does your wolf, simple as that. Listen to your instincts pup, fighting them won’t change how you truly feel, it'll only make you more confused.”

Then she softly squeezed his shoulder and walked back into the crowd.

Derek was left standing there, watching her leave, with more questions swarming through his head than ever before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the super late update guys! Something happened with my Wi-Fi network and I wasn't able to write for 3 weeks. Plus school is killing me and I got a part time job now so yeah, sorry for the long wait, I'm a mess right now. Hope you liked the chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

“What the fuck Cora?! Stop cheating!” Stiles yelled as he tried to get back into the game.

Cora shrugged. “I’m not cheating, I’m winning.”

“You knocked the controls out of my hand!”

She doesn’t even spare him a glance as she responds, “Should have been holding onto it tighter.”

The Omega glares at the Beta and kicks her arm, sending the control to the other side of the room.

“What the hell Stiles?!”

Stiles grins. “Should have been holding onto it tighter.”

Cora growls before quickly snatching the control. Stiles can tell she means business now and he can’t help the smirk that appears on his face.

He can’t wait to see her face when she loses.

It’s not even 10 minutes later when Cora is staring dumbfounded at the screen as Stiles grins triumphantly.

“You beat me…”

The Omega smirks at her. “I told you I’d win. You were just too stubborn to back down.”

Cora glares at him, “I didn’t think you were actually good. I thought you were just being a cocky little shit.”

“I’ve been having weekly video game marathons with Scott, claiming victory every single time, since I was able to hold a controller in my hand without any help and you didn’t think I was going to be any good?”

Cora simply shrugged as she answered, “Well from what I’ve heard Scott totally sucks at video games and hardly makes it passed the first round of anything without dying a couple dozen times.”

The Omega stills at that. Scott doesn’t play video games with anyone else besides him, so, how did Cora know Scott was horrible at video games?

“What makes you think he sucks?”

The Beta snorts. “Are you kidding? Whenever he comes over with the rest of Derek’s posse to invade the game room for a few hours the only thing you can hear throughout the entire house is the sound of him epically failing.”

Oh… alright then. Looks like Scott was lying when he told Stiles he was busy with school work whenever Stiles asked if he was up for a  video game marathon.

Stiles really shouldn’t be surprised by this, and, in a way, he really isn’t. But still, there was a small part of him that thought Scott still cared about him in some way.

Guess he was wrong.

“Hey,” Cora said, snapping him out of his daze, “you okay?”

Stiles gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile before answering. “It’s nothing, really. It’s just… video games was _our thing_ you know? Yeah, they weren't the best matches since he was easier to beat than a bunny but we just hung out and stuffed our faces with junk food and it was fun.”

His face must have shown how upset he truly was at hearing that his best friend forgot about him so completely because Cora pulled him into a side hug a moment later.

Stiles let his head rest on her shoulder.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, silently leaning against each other, until Cora broke the comforting quiet between them.

“So, enough about Scott, I’ve been dying to find out about that hottie you were with yesterday during the Full Moon Howl.”

Stiles groaned. Why now?

“It’s nothing Cora.”

“It didn’t seem like nothing to me.” Cora commented innocently. “In fact, it seemed to me like you were very comfy snuggled up beside him. And he didn’t seem to mind at all.”

The Omega glared at her. “It’s not what you think.”

“Then, what is it? Because it certainly isn’t nothing.” Cora inquired with a sly smirk.

Stiles wants to growl at her but can’t. He knows she’s only doing this to distract him from thinking of Scott.

The sophomore explains what happened during the Full Moon Howl, from everything that occurred between him and the asshat of an Alpha he had the misfortune of bumping into to his encounter with Mason and how the young Alpha helped bring him out of the pheromone induced haze that dickwad put him in.

By the end of his explanation Cora was livid and spitting out threats to rip the guy’s throat out with her teeth.

Stiles felt simultaneously pleased and fearful. It was a strange combination but he wasn’t going to look too much into it. Cora is both the scariest and sweetest person he’s ever met, contradicting emotions were bound to happen.

“You don’t need to rip anyone’s throat out Cora, Mason took care of it.”

“No,” Cora growled out, “he didn’t take care of it, he took care of _you_. He didn’t do anything to make that jerk pay for what he did. That guy could have killed you! Or worse, _mated_ with you.”

“Nice to know you have your priorities straight.” Stiles deadpanned.

The Beta shook her head. “No, you don’t understand, when an Alpha mates with an Omega, regardless of the Omega’s wishes, a mating bond is formed. Yeah, mating bonds can be broken, unlike soul bonds, but it’s still really difficult to do and can cause major problems for the Omega and Alpha’s mental state. In most cases the Alpha becomes feral, on a constant search for their mate, despite no longer having one, and the Omega starts experiencing separation anxiety so severe they usually become psychologically ill and are led to the point of suicide.”

“Well, fuck.”

Cora looks at him like she’s debating his mental health. “Um, yeah, how did you not know that? It’s basic information. The effects of mating between categories is something you should _probably_ know about.”

“And you learned all this in school?” Stiles inquired. He highly doubts that the teachers talked about the negative effects of breaking a mating bond between an Alpha and Omega if they barely spoke about the Omega category as a whole.

Cora opens her mouth, seemingly ready to say yes, before closing it again and actually thinking about the question asked.

She blinks a few times before replying. “No… Michael was writing a research paper on mating and bonds and stuff a few years ago and I asked what he was writing about and he started ranting about the unbelievable ignorance of the school board for waiting until high school to teach all these fundamental topics everyone should know. Then he went into a 2 hour lecture about everything ever discovered about mating bonds and soul bonds. It was torture at the time but the information stuck, the important parts at least.”

Stiles does this weird hand motion with his entire body that looks like he’s trying to swat a fly in an effort to convey his inner thoughts of _you see_ because, seriously, what the hell Cora? If school talked about things like this like they were _supposed to_ then Stiles would have surely understood the gravity of the situation he was in yesterday.

The Omega doesn’t even want to try to imagine what might have happened if Mason hadn’t intervened.

“Well there’s still no need to rip anyone’s throat out. I’m fine and nothing happened, stop trying to kill people.”

Cora sighed but begrudgingly agreed. “So besides what happened with that butthead how did your first full moon go? I know you were worried about it.”

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought actually. I was super on edge at first but once Mason was there it was like I could finally breathe.”

The Beta nodded her head in acknowledgment. “Yeah, the presence of an Alpha can do that. It’s better if it’s your own Alpha, because your wolf will relax instantly while they’re around, but any Alpha can make you feel safe and take the edge off a bit during a full moon. I remember I’d never leave mom’s side back when I first presented and didn’t have much control during the full moon.”

“Yeah, I practically tackled my dad to the ground once he came back from his shift yesterday. I was scent marking him for a good 10 minutes before he suggested we go for a run despite it being one in the morning. We were both exhausted after the first couple laps around the preserve but it made me feel a lot better and I was actually able to sleep afterwards.”

After that Cora goes on to talk about what happened during her first full moon and how she had way less control than he did. She explains how Michael and Laura both took a week off of their college classes to help her through her first full moon as well as her grandparents from both sides of the family deciding to stay over at the Hale House for a few days.

Stiles smiles as Cora tells him the story of her first pack run.

It must be nice being in a large pack, always having someone available when needed. Stiles wouldn’t change the small pack he had with his dad and Cassidy for anything but he can’t say he wouldn’t enjoy having someone around more frequently.

Cassidy has been living in San Francisco for the past 3 years and his dad has been working his ass off as Sheriff of Beacon Hills since Stiles could remember. It’s not a mystery that Stiles spends more time alone than in the company of pack.

Not for the first time, Stiles thinks about what his life could have been with Derek if the passed year and a half never happened.

 

* * *

 

Mason was a bit apprehensive when his coach told them the team would be practicing at Beacon Hills High School’s gymnasium until their court was ready.

Apparently their school decided it would be a good idea to renovate the gym just as basketball season started. The team wasn’t even allowed to practice in the small basketball court they had outside because the cheerleaders were going to be having their practices there and the school didn’t want the team members to ‘get distracted’ by them.

So, the only other option was to ask another school for permission to use their gym and the closest school that agreed to let them practice alongside their own team was Beacon Hills High.

Mason doesn’t mind practicing with another team, but he doesn’t have a car and Beacon Hills isn’t exactly walking distance from his house. One of his moms will have to pick him up after work so he’ll have to make sure to pack extra food for when practice is over.

He’ll have to spend at least an hour waiting for his ride.

The Alpha can ask one of his teammates for a ride but the ones with cars are all in a relationship and their cars smell like a sex 24/7.

Mason doesn’t want to touch that with a ten foot pole. He gets it, they’ve got a hot partner to have lots of sex with whenever and wherever they want but he’d rather not smell the spunk of his teammates. It’s gross.

He wishes the school would just rent a bus to drop them off back at their school once practice is over since they’re going to be brought to BHHS on a bus anyway but whatever. The school board is stupid and lacks common sense.

When they arrived at BHHS Monday after school to practice in their gym for the first time Mason doesn’t know what to expect. His team is fine with sharing a space with another team but he knows some people can get aggressive if they feel their territory is being invaded. Especially werecreatures.

Once they reach the gym the other team is already well into their warm up drills and barely pay them any attention other than the occasional glance. Seems like no one will be growling at each other today, awesome.

Mason and the rest of the team quickly change into their uniforms and head to the gym once more.

This time, a young male Alpha with green eyes and dark hair, comes up to greet them.

“Hey, I’m Derek Hale, captain of the varsity basketball team also known as the Beacon Hills Cyclones and we’re looking forward to practicing with you. You guys can practice any way you’d like but to my knowledge both our coaches decided it would be best if we practiced as a conjoined team rather than two seperate ones for the time being and both the captains share the authority.” The guy -Derek- concluded.

There was something gleaming in his eyes, something like rage? Or maybe… jealousy? Mason couldn’t put his finger on it.

Before he could think too much about it, Mason smiled and extended his hand to shake Derek’s. “Mason Laure, I’m vice-captain of the Beacon County Timberwolves. Unfortunately, Blaze, our current captain, has a broken leg and won't be able to play for a while so I’ll be taking over as captain for the time being. Thanks for allowing us to use your space for our practices for a while, you have no idea how much we appreciate it. As for the joint team idea, our coach gave us a heads up and we’re all on board with it, so it shouldn’t be an issue.”

Derek smiled. “Great, you guys get warmed up and then we can do a team vs. team run through of the plays.”

“Sounds good.”

The rest of practice followed without a hitch. The teams worked well together and there were no quarrels between any members. Mason thought it went better than expected.

Both teams went to the locker rooms to shower and change out of their uniforms.

Mason showered quickly and changed into a plain white t-shirt and grey sweats before grabbing his duffel bag and making his way out of the locker rooms.

He’s about to leave the room when he hears someone whisper, “Hey, Derek, is it true you’re Stilinski’s soulmate?”

“Yeah. It’s true.” Derek replied. But it was, strange. The other Alpha sounded almost _upset_ that he was soulmates with that person.

Mason understands that sometimes people get matched with someone they don’t initially like, but the guy’s got a _soulmate_ , most of the world never meet their soulmate. The least he can do is at least not sound like it’s a punishment.

He thinks about speaking up but soon decides not to and quietly exits the locker room. Derek’s feelings towards his soulmate is none of his business.

Maybe that’s why the guy has that huge patch on his neck. Mason’s been wondering about it during practice, it’s not a common place to get an injury, so, the dude must have been using it to hide his soul mark.

Stiles’ soul mark is also on his neck. Only, he doesn’t hide it, but he doesn’t exactly show it off either. He kinda acts like it’s not there, hardly acknowledges it. Mason found it weird but didn’t ask.

It’s possible Stiles is also having issues with his soulmate.

Mason couldn’t help but be a little disappointed when he saw the soul mark on Stiles’ neck, the Omega was incredibly cute and Mason felt instantly protective of him when he saw what that other Alpha was doing to him.

Had they met before Stiles got his soul mark, they probably could have been something together. Mason tries not to think about it much, the Full Moon Howl was probably the only time he’d ever see Stiles in his life, all he can do now is try to forget the about the beautiful boy and hope he’ll find happiness someday.

“Mason?”

The Alpha turns to the sound of the voice calling his name and is greeted by the sight of Stiles wearing sinfully tight dark jeans, a black graphic t-shirt with the batman logo on it, and a grey beanie with his back bag slung over his shoulders.

Mason’s brain might have short circuited.

“Uh, Stiles? What are you doing here?”

The Omega’s face was the picture of confusion. “Um, I go to school here? I just finished practicing with Paige in the music room and was on my way home. What are _you_ doing here?”

“My school is renovating the gym and my team didn’t have a place to practice so we’re sharing the gym with the BHHS basketball team until it’s done.”

“Oh.”

A long moment of silence passed before Mason said, “Yeah.” in hopes of breaking the awkwardness.

It seemed to snap Stiles out of whatever daze he was in because a moment later the Omega smiled at him and continued walking to the parking lot.

“So, you’re going home now?”

Mason shook his head. “No, need to wait for my mom to pick me up when she can get off work. Might be here a while, a half hour drive isn’t exactly walking distance.”

“I can drive you.” Stiles announces.

The Alpha stops walking and simply stares at the Omega in surprise. “You don’t have to, really, I’m fine waiting. It’s no big deal.”

Stiles rolls his eyes, “I can take you Mason, it’s not that long of a drive. Plus my dad is working a late shift today and I don’t have much homework to do. As long as I have dinner ready by the time he gets home, I’m good.”

“You sure?” Mason asks cautiously. He doesn’t want to bother Stiles, he doesn’t mind waiting for his mom.

The Omega gives him a reassuring smile. “Yeah dude, no problem.”

Then they’re both in Stiles’ jeep heading towards the Alpha’s house. Mason texted his moms telling them he’s getting a ride from a friend and he got matching smiley faces in return.

He’ll never understand his moms’ obsession with emojis.

When they finally reach his house Mason gets off the jeep and says his farewells to Stiles. Just as the Alpha turns to walk through the front door, the door bursts open and his mom walks towards him with her long dark brown curls flowing wildly.

“¡Mason! ¿Cómo puedes dejar que tu amigo se vaya así sin siquiera invitarlo a entrar? Pensé que te crié mejor que esto!”

_Mason! How could you let your friend leave without even so much as inviting him inside? I thought I raised you better than that!"_

Mason groaned. “Mami, porqué estás aquí? Pensé que salías del trabajo a las 8!"

_ Mom, why are you here? I thought you got off work at 8! _

"Yo te iba a recoger de la escuela, pero luego recibí tu mensaje cuando ya me había ido del trabajo. Ahora puedes dejar de ser un mal educado y dejar que tu amigo entre?"

_ I was going to pick you up from school, but then I got your message after I already left work. Now can you stop being rude and let your friend inside? _

Mason whined in frustration. Why is his mom like this? "Mami, déjalo en paz y déja que se vaya a su casa. Si entra, no saldrá hasta que terminemos la comida y lo sabes!”

_Mom, leave him in peace and let him go home. If he comes inside, he won't leave until we finish dinner and you know it!_

His mom rolls her eyes at him while muttering "exagerado." and goes over to the jeep with a very confused Stiles sitting inside of it. “Hi sweetie, I’m Christina, Mason’s mom. Would you like to come inside? I’m sure you’re hungry after staying in school so late and I want to thank you for bringing Mason home.”

_Exaggerated._

“H-hi? I’m Stiles, and uh, I sort of have to go home? My dad’s working late today and I have to get dinner ready.”

His mom’s face saddens in an instant. “Oh.” She says, looking deflated. “I understand, you can go home if you’d like. It’s just, Mason doesn’t bring many friends home. I was simply excited to meet you.”

Mason can see Stiles’ resolve wearing thin. He shakes his head exaggeratedly to try and convince the boy to get out while he still could.

If he doesn’t leave now, his mom will drag him into the house and the poor kid won’t be able to leave until well after dinner has been served.

His mom has a way of making people stay longer than they originally plan to. Which means she’ll have more time to embarrass him.

There’s a reason Mason doesn’t bring any of his friends to his house.

Unfortunately, Stiles agrees to stay for a bit and before the words are out of the Omega’s mouth his mom is already dragging him inside to feed him everything but the kitchen sink.

Mason isn’t looking forward to this.

Once inside it wasn’t long before his mom was bustling around in the kitchen in search of something to feed Stiles.

“Stiles, is there anything you’d like to eat sweetheart? I can make you a ham and cheese sandwich if you’d like. Wait, you’re not lactose intolerant are you? Or a vegetarian? Oh my gosh are you a vegan?! I don’t think I have much to give you if you’re vegan! Maybe a salad? I’m so sorry, I’m not used to having a vegan over. I’m going to go to the grocery store to-”

Stiles laughs, instantly silencing her panicked rant. “You don’t need to do that. I’m not lactose intolerant, or a vegan, or a vegetarian. A ham and cheese sandwich is perfect, thank you.”

Mason’s mom sagged in relief. “Oh thank god. I don’t know what I’d do if you couldn’t eat meat, that’s like, 80% of all the food in this household. Mason’s the definition of a carnivore.”

“Hey!” Mason exclaimed with a look at betrayal clear across his face. “I’m not the only carnivore in this family.”

“I never said you were. I simply stated you were a carnivore. Now, will you please keep Stiles company while I make him a snack?”

“You’re not going to make me a snack?” Mason asks in mock offense.

His mother turns to glare at him. “You have two legs, use them.”

A soft chuckle slips from Stiles’ mouth and the glare the older Omega’s directing at Mason turns into a soft smile. “Sé que él no es tu alma gemela, pero también sé que él ha pasado por muchas cosas. Trata de estar allí para él, se siente solo, y creo que tú también.”

_I know he's not your soulmate, but I also know that he's been through a lot of things. Try to be there for him, he feels alone, and I think you do too._

“Voy a tratar mami.”

_I'm going to try mom._

And he _will_ try. Mason doesn’t know why but he’s felt strangely protective over the young Omega since the Full Moon Howl. He wants to be there for Stiles, be his friend.

The Alpha’s just doesn’t know if he can keep himself from falling for Stiles.

The thought terrifies him.

Soon enough his mom places a plate with a huge chunk of Cuban bread in front of Stiles with several slices of ham and cheese placed inside of it. She also sets a plate with a similar sandwich in front of Mason.

Because she’s the best mom ever and Mason loves her more than anything in this world.

Stiles stares at it for a moment before looking at back at Mason in a clear plea for help.

The Alpha bursts into laughter at the sheer amount of terror in the younger boy’s face. “Cuban families tend to live by a ‘go big or go home’ mindset when it comes to food. Especially with guests.”

“Really? I would have never guessed.” Stiles says, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Stiles looks back at the sandwich laying before him. “What type of bread even is this?”

Mason shrugs and takes a bite out of his sandwich. “Cuban bread, similar to French and Italian bread. It’s just like ordinary white bread but the method in baking it is different and, as you can see, it looks like a baguette.”

The Omega keeps staring at it for a moment longer before taking a bite. The moan that comes a moment afterwards puts a blinding smile on Mason’s face.

Everyone should know of the wonder that is Cuban bread.

Stiles ends up staying until dinner, just as Mason predicted, once his mom called Stiles’ dad, who is apparently the _Sheriff of Beacon Fucking Hills_ , to ask if it was alright for the Omega to stay.

To their surprise, the sheriff agreed as long as they promised to have him back home by 10. Mason’s mom was ecstatic and thanked the sheriff profusely for allowing Stiles to stay a little longer before ending the call and practically drowning the Omega in affection filled with questioned about what his favorite food is and what he’d like her to prepare for dinner.

It was clear that Stiles wasn’t familiar with being treated like this and his body is stiff and awkward, but he smiles and laughs while reassuring the older Omega that _yes_ , pasta is fine.

It’s weird seeing his mom so openly affectionate of the younger Omega. She’s always been extremely generous and nice to all of Mason’s friends but she warmed up to Stiles quicker than most.

The Alpha can’t help the pleased smile that appears on his face at the sight of his mom and Stiles talking animatedly about what to eat. His mom’s always had a passion for cooking.

It wasn’t long before the kitchen turned into the Stiles and Christina cooking show and both Omegas were hyperfocused on making the best pasta that ever existed.

Mason found it more than a little amusing.

When Mason was setting up the dinner table, after Stiles and his mom finished making everything, the front door opened to reveal a woman with jet black hair styled in bob haircut entering the house.

“Hi mom.”

The Omega gives him a tired smile before she walks over to where he was just finishing up the table and gives him a kiss on the cheek. “Hey Masey, how was school?”

Mason shrugs. “It was okay.”

It’s not like he can complain. School is fine, all things considered. It’s just weird being in a completely unfamiliar territory.

Back in Florida he lived in the big city of Miami, surrounded by beaches and skyscrapers. Now he needs to get used to living in the small town of Beacon County that is only a few miles bigger than Beacon Hills.

Not only that but he hasn’t exactly made many friends since him and his moms moved here and joined the Augustus Pack 2 months ago. He’s not going to say that he’s the loner of the school and spends lunch all by himself, because that’s nowhere near the truth, but he hasn’t _clicked_ with anyone.

Everyone he talks to in school is more of an acquaintance than an actual friend, even his teammates are sort of distant around him.

Then again, most people think the only reason he was picked for vice captain was due to him being the nephew of the Augustus Pack’s Lead Alpha, Logan Augustus.

Instead of trying to dig more into it, like she obviously wants to, his mom simply nods and gives him a reassuring smile. “So, where’s mami?”

“She’s in the kitchen with Stiles.”

His mom scrunches up her face before saying, “What the hell is a Stiles?” on her way over to the kitchen.

Before Mason could answer, an overly happy bundle of tight curls zoomed over to them, “Only the sweetest most adorable kitchen assistant in the history of forever! El muchachito es un amor, Adeline, solo espera, yo se que tu te vas a enamorar de el tambien!”

_The boy is a dear, Adeline, just wait, I know you will fall in love with him too!_

“Tina, you know I can barely understand you when you talk fast like that. Try slowing it down for us non-spanish speakers over here.” His mom said with a small chuckle.

“I second that.” Stiles commented, making himself known to the ravenette.

The other Omega looks up and gives him a brief once over before smiling brightly at him, “Hi, I’m Adeline, Mason’s mom.”

“Stiles, I was, uh, sorta kidnapped after dropping off Mason from Beacon Hills High.”

Adeline snorted with a faint, “okay then.” leaving her lips. After only a few minutes they were all seated and stuffing their faces with the amazing food that Christina and Stiles made.

The conversations flowed freely and everyone seemed to be basking in the comfortable atmosphere that surrounded them. Stiles fidgeted a bit and blushed deeply whenever one of Mason’s moms would show him any type of affection, whether it be verbal praise or physical contact.

It’s obvious the Omega isn’t used to being treated like this on a regular basis and the very thought of that makes Mason’s heart break -are Stiles’ parents not affectionate around him?- but it’s clear that he’s enjoying the older Omegas dote on him and that makes the Alpha want to smile like a lunatic.

Once they finish eating Christina gives Stiles a huge portion of leftovers for him to take back home and the older Omegas hug the young werewolf goodbye before Mason is walking Stiles back to his Jeep.

“Dude, your moms are awesome!” Stiles exclaimed once they reached the old baby blue Jeep. “Although, I didn’t really understand what Christina was saying when she switched from English to Spanish like that. I was so lost.”

Mason chuckles and shakes his head. “Yeah, she forgets not everyone can understand Spanish sometimes. Don’t worry, mom still gets lost sometimes too when she talks too fast.”

The Omega smiles, one of those small little smiles that makes his face appear softer, “You’re lucky you know? To have a family like that. You’re… you’re really lucky.”

Mason knows he’s lucky. He knows that not many people live in a loving home like he does, that many people don’t have that kind of support system, but he still wants to know why Stiles doesn’t, or at least, why he doesn’t seem like he does.

Not for the first time, Mason wonders what happened to the young Omega. Mami said something about the young werewolf having gone through a lot and the witch has never been wrong before.

The Alpha wants to know what happened, wants to know how to make Stiles feel better, but he keeps his mouth shut. The Omega might have been extremely nice to him and made an incredible impression on his moms, but they were still practically strangers.

Mason doesn’t want to push his luck, Stiles doesn’t need an interrogation right now. If the Omega decides to tell Mason eventually, then Mason will listen, but if not, that’s fine too. The Alpha doesn’t have any right to know.

They talk for a few more minutes, “Dude, why does your mom keep the pans in the oven?”

Mason blinks. “You don’t? It’s super convenient, like, if you don't put it in the oven then… where the hell do you keep your pans?”

The conversation continues on for a bit before they say goodbye and Stiles is climbing into the driver’s seat, taking off to Beacon Hills. The Alpha watches him go for a few moments and then walks back inside the house.

His moms are both looking at him with matching smirks and he groans loudly, they know about his slight crush on the young wolf. This is going to be a disaster.

The two Omegas didn’t say anything to him, just walked away with a mischievous gleam in their eyes that made Mason want to hide in in his bedroom and never come out.

His moms are amazing, and he couldn’t have asked for better parents, but they’ve got the art of embarrassing their son down packed.

 

* * *

 

Derek wasn’t in the best mood when he came home from practice. The last thing he was expecting was for the other school’s vice-captain to be that Mason kid that was with Stiles during nearly the entire Full Moon Howl.

What made everything worse was the fact that the other Alpha still smelled faintly of Stiles and Derek had to endure all of practice with the slight scent of Stiles constantly in his nose.

The Alpha wasn’t expecting the smell to distract him so much during practice but he found himself zoning out during the plays and has been experiencing a sense of uneasiness since the other team showed up.

Derek hasn’t been able to find time to talk to Stiles. The only times he’s seen the Omega in school today were during the switch between classes and some fleeting looks during lunch that caused Cora to glare at Derek until he wouldn’t look over anymore.

Cora’s protectiveness was another thing that Derek wasn’t expecting. She hardly ever gets like that with people that aren’t direct family, and even then it’s pushing it. It’s strange to see her so protective of someone that’s still so new in her life.

To think that just a month ago Cora didn’t even _look_ at Stiles and now she’s growling at anyone who so much as passes by him is confusing to say the least.

It feels like he’s seeing a completely different side of his sister, one he hasn’t been aware existed.

Cora and Derek have never really been close, it was obvious that Laura was always Cora’s favorite sibling, but they didn’t spend the entire day glaring at each other like they do now.

Then again that probably has more to do with what Derek did to Stiles than anything else, but still, he doesn’t know Cora as well as he thought he did.

The day passes and Derek spends most of it in his room finishing his homework and contemplating how he’s going to be able to try to make it up to Stiles when Cora isn’t letting him go anywhere near the Omega.

Or... how he's going to make it up to Stiles in general.

Laura made it sound so easy, just fixing everything he did, but how does someone get forgiveness from something like that? Stiles obviously hates his guts and it's not like Derek can coronate the Omega with flowers and an I'm sorry letter and expect everything to be fine and dandy from then on.

Life doesn't work out that way.

The only thing Derek can think of that might lead to Stiles forgiving him is telling the younger werewolf his reasons for doing what he did and making it abundantly clear that he regrets it more than anything.

The only problem is... Derek isn't really sure why he started bullying Stiles in the first place. Logically, he can come up with a number of reasons but the Alpha can't really say for certain what made him start treating the Omega like that.

Still, it's the best idea he has.

Dinner that night is uneventful aside from his parents asking Laura about when she’ll be going back to New York. She booked a flight for Saturday morning so they’ll be a barbeque Friday night as a farewell party of sorts that the entire Hale Pack will be attending.

Derek doesn’t really eat much and everyone notices that he’s acting a bit off but no one comments on it. Laura simply laughed it off by saying he probably just needs some brooding time after acting like a functional person for too long.

Little shit.

It isn’t until Cora’s phone rings a while later that Derek is pulled out of his daze. The noise is coming from the living room and seeing as everyone else is currently upstairs getting ready for bed, Derek walks over to the ringing device and picks up the call without looking at who’s calling.

“Cora, you won’t believe what just happened to me! Okay so I was on my way to the school parking lot after I finished practice with Paige and I see _Mason_ walking down the halls of our school and I froze because, what the fuck? So, anyway, I go up to him and apparently his team is practicing in our school because their gym is being renovated and he didn't have a ride home so I offered to drive him-”

“ _What_?” Derek growled out before he could stop himself.

The other line goes silent. “You're not Cora.”

“No, I'm Derek.”

Stiles doesn't say anything and for a moment, Derek thinks he hung up.

After checking that the Omega didn't actually hang up, Derek takes a deep breath. Looks like this is the only time he'll get to talk to Stiles without his sister glaring at him.

“Look, I was wondering if-”

“What the fuck are you doing with my phone?” Cora's voice boomed from where the young Beta was currently making her way down the stairs.

Crap.

Cora took the phone out of his hand and looked down at the caller ID. Her face contorts into a sneer.

“Why were you talking to Stiles?” She growled, “What did you tell him? What did you do? I swear to god if you said anything to hurt him-”

“I wasn't going to hurt him!” Derek exclaims. “Jesus Christ Cora why would I do that?”

Cora's glare doesn't falter as she says, “Because that's all you've _been_ doing.”

She then turns around and walks back upstairs to her room while saying, “Stiles, if he said anything to you, tell me. I'll eat him.” into the phone.

Derek groans and he plops down on the couch. How is he ever going to make it up to Stiles if Cora won't let him so much as _look_ at the Omega.

The Alpha doesn't notice Brandon coming to the living room until the preteen is right in front of him.

“What happened with Cora?” Brandon asked tentatively.

Derek sighs. “Cora’s being a bitch.”

“Why do you think she’s being a bitch?” The young boy inquires while sitting down on the couch next to the Alpha.

“Because she keeps growling and glaring at me whenever she sees me and makes sure Stiles is nowhere near me at all times. I haven’t done anything to the kid since I found out he was my soulmate, why can’t she back off and let me breathe for a bit? It’s not like I’ll hurt him again.”

“You don’t know that!” Brandon snaps.

Derek blinks for a moment. He wasn’t expecting that reaction from his little brother. “What?”

The boy turns to glare at him. “You don’t know if you’ll hurt him again. So don’t say you won’t only to go back on your word in the future. You hurt him and you seem to regret it but that doesn’t mean you won’t do it again. Cora’s just trying to make sure you don’t hurt her friend more than you already have.”

“Where is this coming from? I’ve never gone back on my word before, why would you think I’m going to do it now?”

The Alpha can smell the anger, frustration, and sadness emanating off the preteen. Is he going through his mood swing phase or something?

Brandon snorts and shakes his head, as if not believing his older brother just said that. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe the fact that you went back on your word when you said you’d hang out with me, or when you said you’d help me practice lacrosse, or how about when you said you’d always fucking be there for me and then pushed me aside when you became popular!”

Derek felt like someone punched him in the face. Yeah, him and Brandon haven’t been hanging out as much lately but he hadn’t pushed him aside right? There were just so many things going on at once.

Surely it wasn’t as extreme as Brandon was insinuating right? They hung out like… wait… when was the last time they hung out? It couldn’t have been that long ago…

Fuck.

Derek goes upstairs to Brandon’s room and finds the preteen lying on his bed listening to the music blasting through his headphones.

Brandon ignores the Alpha even though Derek _knows_ that the younger boy can see him until eventually Derek has had enough of being ignored and pulls the headphones off of Brandon’s head.

“Hey!” Brandon yelled.

“Is that how you really feel? Do you really think I pushed you aside when I became popular?”

Derek hadn’t noticed how little him and Brandon spent time together after he befriended Jackson and the rest of the group. Brandon never said anything about it so he figured everything was fine.

Guess he was wrong. Again.

The boy simply shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I was just overreacting, I shouldn’t have said any of that.”

Brandon goes to turn his back on Derek but the Alpha puts a hand on his shoulder, gently turning him back around so that they’re facing each other.

Derek takes a moment to look into his younger brother’s eyes. Those chocolate brown orbs look so tired, the spark that was once there now undetectable beneath the hurt embedded inside them.

The Alpha pulled Brandon into a bone crushing hug as he whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

Moments passed and the young boy didn’t react, Derek was sure the boy was going to push him away in a matter of seconds, but then, thin arms wrapped around his neck and the preteen was hugging him back.

“It’s okay.”

A sense of relief rushed through him at the thought of his little brother forgiving him.

They stayed like that for a little while before Derek pulled back and looked at Brandon’s face once more.

“Want to go to the park on Friday and get ice cream after school? I can help you practice lacrosse if you want.”

The smile that made its way onto Brandon’s face was blinding, one Derek hadn’t seen in a long time. “Yeah, that sounds… that sounds awesome!”

The Alpha couldn’t stop the idiotic grin that appeared on his face even if he wanted to. He messed up, in a lot of ways, but maybe he could fix it, little by little. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there are any errors in the Spanish portions please tell me. Keep in mind that not every Spanish vernacular is the same and there might be some phrases or words used in one Spanish speaking country that doesn't exist in another. I'm a born Cuban but I was raised in the U.S. from the age of 2 so my Spanish consists of the Cuban vernacular, however, despite Spanish being my first language I'm more fluent in English so if you think you spot an error, please tell me in the comments and I'll change it asap. Hope you enjoyed it!


	9. NOT AN UPDATE!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE JUST A GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENT I WANT TO MAKE TO GIVE YOU GUYS A HEADS UP ON WHATS HAPPENING!

Okay guys so I just wanted to let you all know that I am not going to work on this story for a little bit.

I'm participating in Sterek Bingo, which is a new annual event during the whole month of May created by the minds behind Sterek Week, and everything got waaaaaaaay out of hand.

I'm currently working on 8 different stories for this event, all of which I will be posting on A03 once May starts and we're allowed to publically show our pieces, and these stories were supposed to be short and sweet but then plot bunnies kept coming up and they ended up turning into these monsters that aren't even half way done and I am freaking out because I have a MONTH to finish all of these stories and I'm not even done with half of them!

So, I've decided to put all my writing on hold until I finish writing these fics for Sterek Bingo in order to maintain my sanity.

Since the last day to post my pieces for the event is May 30th you can expect chapter 8 to be up by June at the latest. I don't know whether I'll need the entire month of May to finish my fics for Sterek Bingo but just to be safe I'll say the next chapter will be up by mid June if not sooner.

Thanks for reading and sorry for making you guys wait so long for the next chapter but I honestly need the time to focus on my pieces for this event. Hopefully I won't take that long to finish my stories and have the next chapter up by the end of May, but, until further notice, mid June is the estimated date.

I'll delete this once chapter 8 is up.

Have a wonderful day everyone!


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